6 months on, search goes on for missing victims of Shiretoko boat tragedy

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, October 24, 2022

SAPPORO — With Sunday marking six months since a sightseeing boat sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido with no survivors among the 26 passengers and crew members, authorities were finishing up an intensive search for the six whose remains have still not been found.

The 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters and Hokkaido prefectural police discovered 13 bone fragments during a search along the coast of the peninsula on Saturday. That came after the discovery of three bone fragments on Friday.

About 30 police officers, rescue workers and others scoured the area on foot along the shore or by diving in the nearby waters during the three-day search through Sunday.

The Kazu I sightseeing boat sank in April. Of the 26 aboard, 20 have been confirmed dead.