Coast Guard Investigates Salvaged Tour Boat in Hokkaido

Abashiri, Hokkaido, May 28 (Jiji Press)--Coast guard officials on Saturday began the investigation of a salvaged tour boat that was involved in a deadly accident off the Shiretoko Peninsula in the northern Japan prefecture of Hokkaido last month.

At around 12 p.m. (3 a.m. GMT), about a dozen coast guard personnel entered the salvaged tour boat placed on the multipurpose work vessel Kaishin, which arrived at the port of Abashiri on Friday afternoon. Seiichi Katsurada, president of the tour boat operator, is believed to have attended the investigation.

The boat was covered by plastic sheets, hiding the investigation inside.

With 12 people still missing after the accident, members of the coast guard's Special Rescue Team also searched the inside of the boat, for clues to discovering them. So far, 14 of the 26 people who were on the Kazu I tour boat have been found dead.

The 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, based in the Hokkaido city of Otaru, is working to uncover the cause of the accident, examining damage to the boat. It aims to establish a case of professional negligence resulting in death.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]