Port of Shari City on Hokkaido Island, departure point of the Kazu 1 boat
Photo: DW / Deutsche Welle
The crew sent a distress call saying the ship had sunk. It took rescue teams four hours to reach the area without finding anyone.Japanese maritime authorities began searching Saturday, April 23 for 26 passengers on a tourist boat that may have sunk in the waters of the Shiretoko Peninsula in the island’s northeast from Hokkaido, in the north of the country.
The crew of the ship, the Kazu 1, raised a distress call around 1:15 p.m. (local time) on Saturday and informed the Coast Guard that the bow of the ship was flooded and sinking, the broadcaster said. public NHK.
Coastal authorities dispatched five patrol boats and two helicopters after losing communications with the ship. Japanese media cameras were also stationed in the area via helicopters and broadcast search activities live until sunset, but so far no sign of the boat or passengers has been found, which the latest statement said had given life to the jackets.
Among the 26 people traveling on the ship at the time of the incident, 24 were passengers, including two minors, alongside the captain and another employee, a deck crew.
According to the company that operates the boat, which has a capacity of 65 people, Kazu 1 was scheduled to leave Utorohigashi Port in Shari City at 10:00 a.m. and pass through Cape Shiretoko before returning around 1:00 p.m.
The Hokkaido Peninsula in northeastern Japan, Japan’s northernmost main island, is a popular tourist destination and has been a World Heritage Site since 2005. It is home to many rare animal and plant species.
md (EFE, AFP)