May 16, 2023
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A team of Japanese rescuers declared on Monday the death of a child following the boat accident. This had increased the death toll to 11 so far, as efforts to locate the survivors continue.
The ‘Kazu I’ had been carrying 24 passengers, including two crew members and two children. On Saturday, it had suddenly sent out a distress signal as it begun taking on water off the northern Hokkaido Island in Japan.
Over 24 hours into the search, rescuers have intensified their operation and are using patrol boats and aircraft, including three planes, seven ships, and four helicopters to look for the remaining passengers.
The recovery of 10 people was executed. They were declared as dead by Sunday evening. The coast guard mentioned retrieving a child that night. The child’s death had been confirmed on Monday, in the morning.
The first report of rescue was received about 19 hours after the search had started, with the rescuers finding four individuals near Shiretoko Peninsula, close to its tip. Five more individuals were found in the area after a few hours.
One of the rescued individuals was taken to the hospital in a helicopter before being taken into an ambulance, reflected the footage on NHK. For privacy, the rescuers were holding blue plastic shields.
On Sunday, Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, informed reporters that he has ordered his officials to do all that they can for this rescue.
The country’s transport ministry has launched a probe into the boat’s operator over its existing safety standards and decision to go ahead with the tour even in the rough weather.
Tetsuo Saito, the country’s transport minister said that they will investigate what caused the situation and what safety oversight had been involved to have permitted the tour to prevent yet another accident.
The experts are suspecting safety negligence. They are thinking that the boat may have run aground and suffered damaged in the rough water owing to the strong currents as well as a rocky coastline.
The ministry is also going to look into the relation between Saturday’s incidents to the previous two accidents that had involved the same boat. Earlier, the coast guard had said that the same boat had met with an accident in May and June last year.
Reference: theguardian.com
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