On the 23rd, an accident occurred off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, where a sightseeing boat with 26 crew members and passengers was missing.
Rescue activities for the passengers and crew of the tour boat continued, and according to the 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, a total of 7 people have been found around the site sea area so far.
All of them were taken to the hospital unconsciously.
I will give you all the information so far.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, the sightseeing boat "KAZU 1" disappeared after a rescue request saying that it was "flooded".
A camera installed by NHK at the port of Utoro in Shari-cho showed passengers boarding one after another after 9:50 am on the 23rd and leaving the port around 10 am.
According to the people concerned, this ship is a sightseeing boat "KAZU 1".
According to the Japan Coast Guard, there were a total of 26 passengers, including 24 passengers, including two children, and one captain and one deck member.
According to the operating company, the tour boat was scheduled to leave the port of Utoro, Shari-cho at 10 am on the 23rd, then return at Cape Shiretoko and return to the port.
The incident happened around 1 pm when I was planning to return to the port.
According to the Japan Coast Guard, there was a rescue request by radio or telephone from offshore of the Shiretoko Peninsula.
The content was, "The bow is flooded and sinking. The engine cannot be used."
After that, at around 2:00 pm, I told the operating company that the bow was tilted about 30 degrees, but I couldn't get in touch with him at the end.
According to a man who used to be a sailor on a sightseeing boat in Shiretoko, he said that the area around Kashunino Falls at the site was "a dangerous place with fast tides and reefs."
The size of the reef is about 30 meters long and 10 meters wide, and it means that the sightseeing boats passing through this place are sailing with great care.
Also, in this area, when the northwest wind blows, waves tend to rise, making it difficult to maneuver the ship.
An interview with the Japan Coast Guard revealed that the crew of the tour boat had said that the engine was stopped and they could not navigate on their own before the contact was lost.
The Japan Coast Guard is investigating that something went wrong with the tour boat and it was no longer possible to maneuver it.
Regarding passengers, the operating company explained to the Japan Coast Guard that they all wore life jackets.
According to the 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, the sightseeing boat "KAZU 1" has caused an accident in which it rides on a shallow water immediately after leaving the Utorohigashi fishing port in June last year.
At that time, there were 21 passengers on board, but no one was injured.
In this accident, a 42-year-old captain of a sightseeing boat was sent documents on suspicion of the danger of negligence in business.
A man from an operating company other than the missing tourist boat told NHK on the morning of the 24th,
"I know it's going to get rough, so I said,'You shouldn't go.' But I went. (Did you say something at that time?) I said "yes" but I told the captain, I had a grounding accident about twice last year, and as far as I saw, in front of the ship The side was cracked. It may have been cracked and water entered. "