Society | Apr 30

Object found in Hokkaido waters confirmed as missing tour boat

The Japan Coast Guard has confirmed that the object found on the seabed off the coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan is the tour boat that went missing on April 23.

The 19-ton "KAZU I" was carrying 24 passengers and two crew members. Fourteen people were confirmed dead as of Thursday. The others remain unaccounted for, and search operations are continuing.

The Japan Coast Guard said images of what appeared to be the boat were captured by a Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel on Friday morning. It was found at a depth of about 100 meters in waters near a scenic waterfall. The tour boat captain reported that his boat had passed the area of the waterfall before it went missing.

The Coast Guard said the object was identified by the MSDF vessel's undersea camera on the second attempt to do so.

It said images showed all the letters of the boat's name on its exterior. It added that the object was confirmed to have a coating of blue paint, the same color of the missing boat.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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