Cargo ship navigator arrested after deadly collision in central Japan

TOKYO - The navigator of a cargo ship that

collided with a fishing boat in central Japan

and left two people dead was arrested on Feb 21 for professional negligence, a local coast guard office said.

Hanon Sugimoto, 21, has admitted that she was at the helm of the 499-ton, 71m cargo vessel at the time of the collision on the afternoon of Feb 20, according to the coast guard office in Toba, Mie Prefecture.

She was alone on the bridge when the vessel with a crew of six, which was heading to the western Japan city of Kurashiki without any cargo, hit the side of the 16-ton fishing boat that was anchored with 13 people aboard, it said.

The fishing boat split into two in the accident. Ten people sustained injuries, while one missing person was later rescued, according to the authorities. KYODO NEWS