China News Service, April 23. According to Kyodo News, on the 23rd local time, a sightseeing boat carrying 26 people sank near the Shiretoko Peninsula in Shari-cho, Hokkaido, Japan. The boat was calling for help from the Japan Coast Guard. After the disappearance of contact, a total of 26 people on board, including 2 children, are still missing.

　　According to reports, at about 1:15 p.m. local time on the 23rd, Japan’s 1st District Maritime Security Headquarters (Otaru) received a distress message from the sightseeing ship "KAZU 1" sailing in the sea of ​​Okhotsk, saying "the bow" Partially flooded, the boat is sinking and the hull is tilted about 30 degrees."

The ship subsequently lost contact.

According to the company website of Shari-cho, where KAZU 1 belongs, the ship has a crew of 65 people.

　　After leaving the port in Utoro, the town of Shari, the ship sent a distress message near the "Kashuni Falls" about 27 kilometers northeast of it, the report said.

　　According to the Coast Guard, a total of 26 people on board, including two children, are missing and may have been in distress.

District 1 said that of the 26 people on board, passengers included 22 adults and two children, as well as a captain and a deckhand.

Helicopters and patrol boats in the 1st management area are searching the sea area at the scene.

　　According to reports, strong winds were blowing in Shari-cho, Hokkaido, and the waves were high in the morning.

As of 20:00 local time, the ship had not been found.

　　Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said a meeting of the countermeasures headquarters would be held at around 22:00 pm.

　　In addition, the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory stated that Shari Town issued a reminder on the 23rd to pay attention to strong winds and to pay attention to waves.

A staff member of the Utoro Fisheries Association said that its fishing boats returned to the port before noon that day.

　　According to the Abashiri Coast Guard, KAZU 1 washed up on the shoal shortly after its voyage on June 11, 2021, and hit a reef. Fortunately, no one was injured.