Photo/Illutration Local residents pray in front of a makeshift morgue set up in a gymnasium in Shari, Hokkaido, following the sinking of a pleasure boat off the coast of Shiretoko Peninsula with 26 people on board. (Kengo Hiyoshi)

Foul weather hampered search efforts April 28 for possible survivors of a pleasure boat that sank in stormy seas off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido last weekend. Fifteen people remain missing.

In the meantime, bereaved family members have helped local authorities in Shari, Hokkaido, to identify 11 bodies plucked from the frigid ocean after the Kazu I pleasure boat ran into difficulties on April 23.

Six of those identified came from Tokyo, Kagawa, Chiba, Saga and Fukushima prefectures.

Cutters and aircraft from the First Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Otaru, Hokkaido, joined in the search from the morning of April 28.

Sonar equipment was used in an attempt to locate the sunken Kazu I near the scenic Kashuni Falls, where the boat was last in contact. But divers were having a difficult time joining in the search because of high waves.

The search was also being expanded from around the vicinity of the Shiretoko Peninsula to include waters near the disputed Northern Territories.

Russian authorities were notified in advance that the search may extend to waters claimed by Moscow. The four small islands, known collectively as the Northern Territories, were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II and continue to be a thorn in the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

The Tenyo, a Coast Guard hydrographic survey vessel based in Tokyo, was expected to reach the Shiretoko Peninsula as early as April 29 to assist in the search effort.

Related News