THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 27, 2022 at 19:18 JST
Hopes were dashed that a “large object” spotted on the seabed off eastern Hokkaido was a tour boat that went missing April 23 in stormy weather with 26 people on board.
The Coast Guard’s Regional Maritime Safety Headquarters based in Otaru, Hokkaido, said April 27 that the object turned out to be an uneven rock formation, not the Kazu I pleasure craft.
The site is close to the last known position of the boat that was taking tourists around the spectacular Shiretoko Peninsula.
The Coast Guard on April 26 dispatched divers to the site, about 30 meters below the sea surface and 150 meters west of the scenic Kashuni Falls.
The search continued April 27 with five divers.
But officials said there was no evidence of the missing boat.
Eleven bodies have been recovered so far, but 15 people remain missing.
The Coast Guard will continue to search the coastline, using divers as well as boats and aircraft.
Child’s body found; 15 missing in Hokkaido tour boat disaster
April 25, 2022
Rescue efforts move closer to disputed isles; Russia notified
April 26, 2022
‘Large object’ detected where Hokkaido boat went missing
April 26, 2022
Boat with 26 on board taking on water, sends SOS
April 23, 2022
6 missing, a day after ship capsizes off South Korea
October 21, 2021
10 confirmed dead in Hokkaido boat disaster; 16 missing
April 24, 2022
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
The Japan Coast Guard continues its search operations off the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido on the morning of April 27. (Kazuyoshi Sako)
