TOKYO: A sightseeing boat in Japan, carrying 26 people, went missing after sending a distress signal warning that it was sinking on Saturday, the coastguard and local media said. Rescuers are searching the missing boat.
The “Kazu 1” was sailing in the cold and rough waters off the northern tip of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture when it sent a signal to the coastguard saying it was taking on water and sinking, national broadcaster NHK said.
A local coastguard official confirmed to AFP that rescuers had “set up a task force to tackle the incident” and look for the missing, but declined to confirm any other details of the reported accident.
As of 9:30 pm local time (1230GMT), some eight hours after the initial distress call, officials said the search was ongoing.
Local media reported that 24 passengers were on board the boat, including two children, as well as two crew members.
Everyone on the boat was wearing a life jacket, but the distress call said the vessel was “tilting about 30 degrees”, NHK said.
The Shiretoko Peninsula is a world heritage site designated by UNESCO in 2005 and is known for its unique wildlife, including the endangered Steller sea lion, as well as migratory birds and brown bears.
It is on the far northeastern tip of Hokkaido, where temperatures currently hover around zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Local media reported the daytime water temperature in the area was around two-three degrees Celsius, and that some local fishing boats had returned to port early because of high waves and strong wind.
Japan’s coastguard have been involved in a variety of search and rescue missions around the archipelago, including the successful discovery last November of a 69-year-old man who spent 22 hours drifting in open water off southwestern Kagoshima.
In September 2020, a cargo ship with 43 crew onboard sunk after being caught in a typhoon off Japan’s southwest coast.
Two survivors were rescued, while a third crew member was found unresponsive and declared dead. The search operation was called off a week later.
The “Kazu 1” was sailing in the cold and rough waters off the northern tip of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture when it sent a signal to the coastguard saying it was taking on water and sinking, national broadcaster NHK said.
A local coastguard official confirmed to AFP that rescuers had “set up a task force to tackle the incident” and look for the missing, but declined to confirm any other details of the reported accident.
As of 9:30 pm local time (1230GMT), some eight hours after the initial distress call, officials said the search was ongoing.
Local media reported that 24 passengers were on board the boat, including two children, as well as two crew members.
Everyone on the boat was wearing a life jacket, but the distress call said the vessel was “tilting about 30 degrees”, NHK said.
The Shiretoko Peninsula is a world heritage site designated by UNESCO in 2005 and is known for its unique wildlife, including the endangered Steller sea lion, as well as migratory birds and brown bears.
It is on the far northeastern tip of Hokkaido, where temperatures currently hover around zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
Local media reported the daytime water temperature in the area was around two-three degrees Celsius, and that some local fishing boats had returned to port early because of high waves and strong wind.
Japan’s coastguard have been involved in a variety of search and rescue missions around the archipelago, including the successful discovery last November of a 69-year-old man who spent 22 hours drifting in open water off southwestern Kagoshima.
In September 2020, a cargo ship with 43 crew onboard sunk after being caught in a typhoon off Japan’s southwest coast.
Two survivors were rescued, while a third crew member was found unresponsive and declared dead. The search operation was called off a week later.
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