The Japanese Coast Guard confirmed the death of a child on Monday, the 11th confirmed fatality in the sinking of a tourist boat in freezing, choppy waters off northern Japan. Fifteen other people remain missing.
The Kazu I had set sail on Saturday morning with 26 people on board: 24 passengers, including two children, and two crew members. He had sent out a distress call early in the followingnoon, warning that he was sinking.
But first aid took more than three hours to arrive on the scene, as the boat set off on an excursion along the Shiretoko Peninsula, a remote natural area in the northeast of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The first ten bodies were found on Sunday by the emergency services, before that of the child discovered on the night of Sunday to Monday. Although the occupants of the boat were all supposed to be equipped with life jackets, hopes of finding survivors quickly dwindled due to freezing sea temperatures in the area – around two-three degrees during the day.
Unanswered message
The Kazu I had also set sail when the weather conditions were forecast to be unfavorable for Saturday followingnoon, with high waves and strong winds. Local fishing boats had returned to port before noon, out of caution.
Representatives of the Ministry of Transport visited the company which organized the excursions of the Kazu I to determine if it respected safety standards and to investigate the causes of the sinking, according to a spokesperson for the ministry interviewed by AFP. .
