A Russian general consul to Japan died after falling off a cliff during a volleyball game, reported Russian media Saturday citing the Russian embassy in Tokyo.
Vladimir Pushkov was attending a party with colleagues in the state of Agano when he tried to return a ball that had overshot the court. But he lost control and fell off a cliff.
Pushkov's deputy was then seriously injured in an attempt to rescue Pushkov, and needed to be airlifted from the site in a helicopter.
The two worked for the consulate in Niigata, which lies about 300kilometres north of Tokyo. (DPA)