An 83-year-old man fell to his death while removing snow from the roof of a house in Minamiuonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on Saturday.
A neighbor called 119 just before 10 a.m. and said that a man had fallen from the roof of a house, TV Niigata reported.
According to the police, the man who fell was Katsuyoshi Aoki. He suffered a heavy head injury and was taken to hospital, where he later died.
Aoki was working alone on the roof to remove snow when he lost his footing and fell about four meters to the ground below.
A wide area of Niigata Prefecture, including Minamiuonuma City, was hit by heavy snow, and at the time, about 50 centimeters of snow had accumulated on the roof of the house.
Police in areas with heavy snowfall are calling on people to remove snow in teams of two or more and to wear safety ropes and helmets as a safety measure.
