TOKYO, JAPAN- Ten climbers died in bad weather in mountains in northern Japan, police said Friday, as survivors recounted the harrowing ordeal of being battered by vicious winds and rain.

Rescue helicopters were dispatched to mountains in Daisetsuzan National Park on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido where gales lashed the climbers, leaving some exhausted and unable to keep going.

Eight people from one group and one solo climber died on 2,141-metre (7,024 foot) Mount Tomuraushi while another woman perished on 2,052-metre Mount Bieidake in the same area, a police spokesman said.

At least nine of them were killed by hypothermia, police said.

Officials said they were still trying to identify the victims, who were in their 50s and 60s. But they were not believed to include any foreigners.

Some of the survivors said they too had feared for their lives.

One told local media: "I told everyone: "You have to get up. You might die." But I myself was also at risk of losing my life."

He said the guides decided to continue climbing Mount Tomuraushi despite the strong winds.

His party separated into two groups because some people could walk no further and he found himself alone after failing to keep up with those who had kept going.

"The wind was so strong. You get tired so quickly. They should have given up but they kept going. They shouldn't have done that," he said at the foot of the mountain.

The company which organised the Mount Tomuraushi trek, Amuse-travel, said the tour was only for experienced climbers.

"We offer our sincere apologies to those who died," company president Seiichi Matsushita said in a brief press conference.

"What I heard was that the guides were very experienced veterans who had been doing this for years," he said.

The weather agency said winds of at least 20 metres (66 feet) per second were blowing near the mountain tops and the temperature was about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit).

"It had been raining from Wednesday through Thursday as a low pressure system was passing through the area," Akira Muranaka, an official at the Japan meteorological agency, told AFP.

"The combination of the low temperature, strong wind and rain would have made for very severe weather conditions," he said.

The densely forested Daisetsuzan National Park attracts many climbers who visit to see its natural beauty, dramatic landscapes and wildlife.