boat accident
Excursion boat capsized off Japan: four people found
After boat accident: four people were rescued – where are the other 22 people? Photo: Uncredited/Kyodo News/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
26 people were on board when a Japanese tour boat reported distress off the coast of northern Japan. Four people have now been rescued. Where are the 22 remaining humans?
A day after a tour boat capsized off northern Japan, the Coast Guard rescued four people from the freezing sea.
As local media reported on Sunday, they were discovered unconscious in the water off the coast of northern Japan’s Shiretoko Peninsula early in the morning (local time). There was still no trace of the other 22 people on board and the excursion boat itself. The emergency services had searched for survivors from the air and by boat all night, it said. The water temperature at the sea surface was only two to three degrees. The “KAZU I” had made an emergency call around noon the day before that there had been a leak.
Shortly thereafter, the crew reported that the boat had a strong list before contact was finally lost. In addition to the two-man crew, there were 22 adult passengers and two children on board. The peninsula in the northeast of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, is a popular destination for excursions because of its drift ice and has been a World Heritage Site since 2005. It is home to many rare animal species and plants.