Japan continues search near disputed isle for missing people from sunken tour boat

Sapporo – The Japan Coast Guard continued its search Friday of the ocean round a Russia-controlled, Japan-claimed island off Hokkaido, two weeks after a tour boat sinking left 14 individuals lifeless and 12 lacking.

A patrol boat searched the realm close to Kunashiri Island, considered one of 4 islands claimed by each international locations, after Moscow permitted the boat to function based mostly on a bilateral accord on maritime accidents.

Different boats and airplanes, in the meantime, searched across the Shiretoko Peninsula near the place the sunken tour boat was discovered on April 29.

Kazu I, operated by Shiretoko Yuransen, was carrying 24 passengers and two crew members when it went lacking on April 23 after leaving port in Shari, Hokkaido, for a cruise alongside the peninsula regardless of a foul climate warning.

No our bodies have been discovered since April 28. Native fishermen ended their help with the search Thursday.

Police have searched the within of the 19-ton boat, which at the moment sits at a depth of 120 meters off the peninsula, utilizing a camera-equipped machine, however there have been no indicators of any of the lacking individuals.

The search round Kunashiri Island got here after Russia’s coast guard agreed to permit Japanese vessels into the realm consistent with the Worldwide Conference on Maritime Search and Rescue. A territorial row over who owns it and three different islands has prevented the 2 nations from signing a post-World Battle II peace treaty.

In accordance with the Japan Coast Guard, the Russian coast guard advised the Japanese facet that it had noticed somebody in a life jacket drifting at sea on April 27 however was unable to carry out a rescue resulting from turbulent climate circumstances.

The peninsula within the northeast of Hokkaido was designated as a World Pure Heritage web site in 2005. It is named a preferred vacation spot for recognizing drift ice in addition to distinctive flowers and lots of uncommon species of animals resembling brown bears.