A man from Hong Kong has died while attempting to climb Mount Fuji in Japan. It is the first death of this climbing season.

Lawrence Wong, 58, began his ascent with his wife from the fifth station of the popular Yoshida Trail on Monday and reached a mountain hut at an altitude of 3,100 m around 8:30 p.m., the Hong Kong Free Press.

Wong, an employee of the Department of Trade and Industry in Hong Kong, fell unconscious when he reached the eighth station of Yamanashi Prefecture, reported The standard.

Other climbers informed the station staff, who quickly took him to the nearest medical center, where a doctor pronounced him dead.

The cause of death is not yet known, but Japanese police told NHK that the man had no external injuries. The immigration authorities confirmed that they had received a request for assistance and are contacting the Chinese embassy in Japan.

The ministry is also available to provide support and advice to the official’s family, it said.

Wong’s death is the first since the summer climbing season began on July 1.

Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, is closed for most of the year. It is open to climbers for two and a half months from July to mid-September.

However, this does not stop hikers from climbing the peak outside of the season. At the end of June, four climbers died while climbing the mountain while the hiking trails were still closed.

Mountain guide Takekawa Shunji explained the challenges of climbing Mount Fuji to NHK: “Mount Fuji is considered one of the most difficult mountains in Japan for winter climbing in winter. The conditions are so harsh that people with only some experience of climbing normal mountains in winter cannot cope with it. There is still some snow in June, so a climber must know that the conditions are no different from those in winter.”