Search Conducted inside Sunken Boat off Hokkaido

Shari, Hokkaido, April 30 (Jiji Press)--A search using an underwater camera inside the sunken Kazu I sightseeing tour boat was conducted Saturday as 12 people remained missing a week after the vessel disappeared.

The boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, after leaving the town of Shari on the morning of April 23 for a sightseeing tour. Fourteen of the 26 people on board have been found and confirmed dead.

On Friday, the boat was found on a slope on the seabed near the peninsula at a depth of about 115 to 120 meters, where visibility is only 1 to 2 meters.

The Japan Coast Guard's 1st regional headquarters, based in the Hokkaido city of Otaru, conducted the underwater search in cooperation with the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Divers at the coast guard's Special Rescue Team can reach a depth of only up to 60 meters. Thus, specially trained divers in the private sector may be asked to participate.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]