A search operation for people missing on a volcano in central Japan has been called off, as a typhoon bringing heavy rains approaches, a week after a deadly volcanic eruption claimed dozens of lives.

The bodies of at least 12 hikers are believed to be lying somewhere on the still-smouldering Mount Ontake, a popular trekking destination that saw a spectacular eruption on September 27.

Rescue workers have already retrieved the bodies of 51 other victims, making it Japan’s deadliest eruption for almost 90 years.

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“The rescue efforts are suspended due to heavy rains in the area,” said a disaster official at Nagano prefecture.

Heavy rain and strong winds are sweeping across Japan as Typhoon Phanfone moves toward the Pacific coast, threatening to make landfall on Monday.

Phanfone, a Laotian term for “animal”, was at noon local time located around 120 kilometres southeast of Yakushima, Kagoshima prefecture in southern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Packing gusts of up to 216 kilometres per hour, the typhoon was moving north at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour and could make landfall by Monday, the agency said.

Gases are still rising from the volcano, now covered by a knee-deep layer of wet and sticky ash that has hampered the search-and-rescue operation.

Nearly 1000 troops, firefighters and police have participated in the search operation amid fears that the bodies of missing hikers remain buried under the ash.

Mount Ontake is popular among hikers – particularly as the autumn leaves turn their colours.