TOKYO: One person was killed and several were reported missing after a yacht and a cargo ship collided in waters off southern Japan on Wednesday, the coast guard said.

The captain of a 492-ton gravel carrier reported to the Japan Coast Guard that it collided with a yacht close to Hoto island in Japan’s Oita region, according to the local coast guard officials.

One person was found nearby at around 10:00 am and was sent to hospital after reportedly being pulled from the water unconscious.

“The person found is a 70-year-old man from Oita. He was confirmed dead,” a coast guard official told AFP.

The gravel carrier captain told the coast guard there were several people on the yacht.

“Based on this report, we are still continuing to search for the missing people with six vessels and one plane,” the official said.

AFP