The horrific sinking of a tourist boat with 26 people on board

a boat Tourism with 26 people on board is still required on Saturday evening by the coast guard in the northeast of the country Japanafter warning several hours before it sank, according to local media.

The Kazuo 1 was sailing in cold and stormy waters not far from the island of Hokkaido (northern Japan) when it sent out a distress call around 1:15 p.m. local time, according to Japan’s public television channel NHK.

Contact was later lost with the boat, and help did not reach the area until several hours later. A coast guard official confirmed to AFP, Saturday, that a rescue operation had been carried out, but he did not give further details.

cold temperatures

The whereabouts of the boat and its passengers – 24 passengers including two children, as well as two crew members according to the media – were not located at 9:30 p.m. JST, and the search was still going on despite the darkness.

According to NHK, the crew and passengers were provided with life jackets, but the temperatures are extremely cold in the area, currently around zero degrees Celsius at night.

In addition, fishing boats in the area returned to port before noon Saturday due to rough waves and high winds, according to the Japan Fishing Cooperative News Agency.