According to Kyodo News Agency, on February 29 local time, the Maritime Security Headquarters (Shiogama) of Japan ’s Second Control District reported by radio that Belize ’s cargo ship “Kokusei 1” was located about 12 kilometers offshore in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture. The ship collided with a fishing boat and was flooding. A total of 14 crew members were on board, including 7 Chinese, 6 Vietnamese and 1 Filipino. The cargo ship sank after about 20 minutes. Except for one of the 14 crew members, the remaining 13 were missing.
The collision fishing boat was the eighth rich pill, an offshore trawler in Hachinohe, and returned to Hachinohe Port at 11:20 a.m. local time on March 1. There were 13 Japanese and 15 Indonesians on board, all of which were life-threatening.
As of 10:00 a.m. local time, life rafts and life buoys were recovered from the on-site waters, but no missing persons were found. In order to investigate the cause of the accident, the Transportation Safety Committee has appointed two ship accident investigators responsible for the incident, and search and rescue operations are continuing.
On 1 March, the headquarters of Area 2 searched for 13 missing persons through patrol boats and aircraft. The sea in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture has dispatched an aircraft since receiving a disaster dispatch request from the 21st Aviation Group. The Marine Security Headquarters in the first (Otaru), third (Yokohama), and fifth (Kobe) districts also sent special rescue teams and jets to join the search and rescue operation.
(Edited by Gao Yuhui)
Editor-in-chief: [Liu Xian]