Missing Japanese tourist boat: Coast guard confirms 10 dead

TOKYO • Ten people found so far from a Japanese tour boat missing off the country's northern coast have been confirmed dead, the coast guard said yesterday.

The boat, Kazu I, went missing on Saturday with 26 people on board during a cruise off the main northern island of Hokkaido.

Of the 10, seven were men and three were women, the coast guard said in a bulletin.

There were 24 passengers, including two children, and two crew members on board.

Drift ice could be seen in the area's waters as late as last month, and water temperatures now would be 2 deg C to 3 deg C, said an official at a local fishery cooperative.

"Just a few minutes in that sort of water would start clouding your consciousness," he said.

The authorities were using aircraft and patrol boats, including seven ships, three airplanes and four helicopters from the coast guard, to search for the remaining passengers and crew of the Kazu I after it ran into trouble off Shiretoko Peninsula, famous for its wildlife and dramatic coastline.

The coast guard heard from the crew on Saturday afternoon that water was flooding the vessel.

The crew was last heard from around two hours later, when they contacted the operating company to say the vessel was keeling at a 30-degree angle, Kyodo news reported.

The coast guard said it was not clear what had happened to the boat. No one was available for comment at the company.

The boat had set out on Saturday morning on a sightseeing cruise of the sort that is popular in the Shiretoko Peninsula, a designated Unesco World Heritage site.

The tour went ahead despite high winds and waves that reportedly prompted even some local fishing boats to return to shore to avoid the worsening conditions.

The boat issued a distress call at around 1.15pm (2.15pm Singapore time) on Saturday, with coast guard helicopters and vessels arriving in the area several hours later.

By nightfall, the air temperature had dropped to around 0 deg C.

Local police and Japan's Self Defence Forces joined the rescue operation, and the first four people were located early yesterday, with five more being retrieved in the following hours.

It was unclear when the 10th body was recovered.

Some were found in the water, while others were spotted along the rugged shoreline.

The Kazu I ran aground in shallow waters in June last year, becoming stranded with 21 passengers and two crew members on board, according to the Japanese media.

The vessel was able to leave the shallows on its own and return to port, but the police probed its captain for endangering traffic by negligence in the conduct of business.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE