‘Smile on his face’: Kind, humble Melbourne man dies while skiing in Japan

A Melbourne man is being remembered as a humble, good friend after he died while skiing in northern Japan this week.

The death of Michael Hurst comes just days after another Australian was killed in a ski lift incident.

Local media reported Hurst, 27, was skiing with a group of seven people in Niseko, on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, on Monday, when he went missing.

Emergency services reportedly found another group of skiers giving Hurst CPR. He later died in hospital.

Hurst was college captain of St Bede’s College, in Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Mentone, in 2016. He followed his brother Patrick, who was captain in 2014.

In a statement released to the ABC, Patrick said Michael “was unwaveringly kind, compassionate and went through life with a smile on his face and a great sense of humour”.

St Bede’s College acknowledged his tragic loss in a letter to the school community.

“As a faith community, we unite in prayer, commending Michael to the loving mercy of God
and praying for comfort, strength, and peace for his family during this time of profound
grief,” said principal Deb Frizza.

“We also hold in our prayers our colleagues and community members who knew,
taught, and were close to Michael.”

The mother of Hurst’s best friend took to Facebook to pay tribute to him.

“Knowing he died doing the sport he loved the most makes us happy knowing you left this world in full action. You were the healthiest, good looking but most humblest child, young man, we knew. I see your face always laughing with Lochie tearing up the sports together,” she wrote.

Hurst’s LinkedIn profile suggests that at the time of the incident, he was on a “career break” from his work as a town planner in Geelong.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing assistance to the young man’s family, sending its “deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time”.

Local media reports he worked at a lodging facility in Hokkaido prefecture. His death is being investigated by local police, who reported no visible injuries to the man when he was discovered.

Hurst’s death follows that of experienced snowboarder Brooke Day when her avalanche rescue backpack became caught on a ski lift. The incident at the Tsugaike Mountain Resort occurred on Friday morning, and the 22-year-old died in hospital early on Sunday.

Day’s family, in a statement released on Tuesday, said she had recently completed a three-day avalanche course, and had used that knowledge to help rescue four people from life-threatening situations. The rescue backpacks feature a rapidly expanding airbag designed to keep people near the snow’s surface in an avalanche.

Her death is being investigated by local police.

Tsugaike Mountain Resort chief executive Tsuneo Kubo has committed to reviewing safety measures to prevent another tragedy, saying the organisation would “do our utmost to respond to the needs of our deceased customers and their families”.

The death of the Australian man comes less than a month after another foreign national died after he was found unconscious on the slopes in Niseko.

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