TOKYO (AFP) – One person is dead and six missing, Japan’s coastguard said yesterday, after a boat capsized and was spotted in waters off the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islets, which are also claimed by China.
It was unclear where the boat had initially capsized but on Sunday a Japanese navy patrol spotted it drifting in waters north of the islands, coastguard spokesman Keisuke Nakao told AFP.
The crew were one from Taiwan and six Indonesians, he added.
“At around 9.15am, a body was found inside the cabin by divers, and an ID on the body suggests it was an Indonesian man,” another spokesman Masaya Tokita said.
The coastguard has been searching the area with patrol ships and helicopters since receiving the information about the capsized boat on Sunday afternoon from the Maritime Self-Defence Force. Coastguard officials said Japanese authorities were coordinating with their counterparts in Taiwan.
