HOKKAIDO:  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.

According to the coast guard headquarters, the boat was found on the seabed about 1 kilometer west-northwest of a waterfall at the peninsula. The 19-ton Kazu I was near the waterfall when it called for help.

Searches for the missing people using ships and aircraft are continuing. Authorities are contacting Russia as they may need to search areas around the Kunashiri Island, one of the Russian-held islands at the center of the two countries’ territorial dispute.

On Saturday, people laid flowers at a gymnasium in Shari where the bodies of victims are placed. Among the visitors was Katsunori Nojiri, the 54-year-old head of a local tourism association.

“My heart aches when I think about the feelings of the bereaved. I hope those missing will be found as soon as possible,” he said.

JIJI Press