According to the Japan Coast Guard, the death of one child rescued on the 24th was newly confirmed in the accident on the 23rd when a sightseeing boat with 26 passengers and crew was distressed off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido. That is.
This confirms the deaths of all 11 rescued so far.
This is a commentary by reporter Yuji Suda of the Social Affairs Department about the status of the search.
(The video was broadcast on "Good Morning Japan" on the morning of the 25th. 2 minutes and 45 seconds. It cannot be viewed on the data broadcast.)
Search underwater using sonar
-Please tell us about the latest status of the search.
According to the 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, after 11:00 on the 24th, a new child was rescued by a patrol boat of the Japan Coast Guard around the site sea area and was taken to the hospital unconsciously.
A total of 11 people have been found in the searches so far.
The Japan Coast Guard has decided to further expand the search while focusing on the vicinity of Cape Shiretoko.
On the other hand, no clue about the hull itself has been obtained.
Based on the situation of the search so far, the Japan Coast Guard believes that it may have sunk.
Under these circumstances, the Japan Coast Guard has decided to adopt a new method.
It is a method that utilizes a device called "sonar" that detects things in the sea or on the seabed using sound waves.
Search by sonar to find clues from the ship and dive into the area to check.
It is also used in the search when many people are missing due to the tsunami due to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Satellite phone "cannot be used due to submersion" is also possible
-In the new information, it was found that the ship operator explained to the Japan Coast Guard that "I made a satellite phone call to the tour boat, but it did not connect."
What can you think of from there?
Satellite phones can communicate even in areas where the radio waves of ordinary mobile phones are difficult to reach.
If you couldn't even connect to a satellite phone, it's possible that you were submerged and couldn't use it.
Since it is assumed that the power is on properly, it cannot be determined, but it can be said that the possibility that the tour boat has sunk will become more realistic.
The safety management of operating companies will also be the focus of the future
-On the 24th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism entered into a special audit of the ship's operating company.
This is an investigation that takes seriously the fact that this ship had two accidents last year.
One of these was a grounding accident that hurt the hull, so I'm worried about the relationship with this inundation.
In addition, according to a person concerned with the Japan Coast Guard, it was important to communicate with the company in order to understand the situation as it became impossible to contact the tour boat at the beginning of the outbreak, but the company will contact you. It is said that there were few inquiries from the Japan Coast Guard.
For now, the top priority is to find passengers and crew that have not been found yet, but how the operating company's safety management was will be the focus of future investigations and investigations.