A tourist boat with 26 people – including two children – sank without a trace of survivors after seven hours, the Japanese Coast Guard said.
The 19-ton Kazu1 made an emergency call in the early afternoon, saying the ship’s bow was flooded and began to sink and tilt.
The crew also said that the people on board were wearing life jackets and the boat was tilted at an angle of 30 degrees.
He was traveling along the west coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula, in the northern island of Hokkaido.
There has been no contact from the boat since.
It carried 24 passengers, two of them children and two crew members.
Six patrol boats and four planes were sent to the area in search of survivors.
High waves and strong winds were observed in the area for about 12 hours, a local fishing cooperative said.
Local media reported that the fishing boats returned to the port before noon due to bad weather.
Public broadcaster NHK has announced a high-altitude warning of up to 9 feet.
The operator’s website says the tour takes about three hours and offers scenic views of the west coast of the peninsula, including animals such as whales, dolphins and brown bears.
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