3 Dead after Fishing Boat Fails to Return off Miyazaki Pref.

Miyazaki, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Three people were confirmed dead after their boat failed to return from a fishing trip in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Miyazaki on Thursday morning, according to the Japan Coast Guard and fire authorities. At around 7:50 a.m., the JCG’s Miyazaki Office received a report that a boat had not returned after going out for net fishing for Japanese spiny lobsters in the city of Nichinan. Three people aboard the vessel, including its 76-year-old male captain, were found, but all were confirmed dead. As the fishing boat has not been located, the coast guard is continuing the search, including deploying aircraft, while investigating the cause of the incident. The coast guard and other sources said the deceased were the captain and two other men, aged 82 and 73, all residents of Nichinan. The vessel was the Shintoku Maru, a 0.9-ton fishing boat belonging to a fisheries cooperative in the Nango district in Nichinan. No other people were on board. Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., another fishing vessel from the cooperative found the three men drifting off the port of Tonoura in Nango. All three were in cardiopulmonary arrest when discovered. None was wearing a life jacket. According to the fisheries cooperative, the Shintoku Maru left port at around 2 a.m. Thursday for Japanese spiny lobster fishing and had been scheduled to return later that morning. A marine wind warning was issued for the Hyuga-nada sea area off Miyazaki at 5:35 a.m. the same day. When a coast guard patrol vessel arrived at the scene, the weather was cloudy but visibility was clear. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]