NAHA - Two boats carrying high school students on a peace study program capsized off the coast of Henoko in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, the planned relocation site for a U.S. military airfield, on March 16th, throwing a total of 21 people into the sea, all of whom were rescued, though a second-year female student and the male boat captain later died.
The accident, which claimed the lives of a student from Doshisha International High School in Kyoto Prefecture and the captain, occurred when both boats capsized at nearly the same location near a coral reef area where waves tend to rise easily, it was learned on March 17th from the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha. The second boat overturned about two minutes after the first, and intermittent high waves may have been occurring at the time, with the Japan Coast Guard continuing to investigate the detailed circumstances.
Two investigators from the Naha office of the Japan Transport Safety Board began an on-site investigation on March 17th, inspecting the two vessels that had been brought back to port, and will proceed to interview crew members and school officials.
Source: Kyodo
