A Japanese coast guard helicopter saved 24 fishermen who were hanging onto a tilting, half-sunken ship during a storm near an island chain southwest of Tokyo on Monday morning. One person who was on the ship fell into the rough ocean and died before the rescuers came.
According to a coast guard statement, the Fukuei Maru No. 8 halted owing to an engine failure on Sunday evening in the Pacific Ocean, around five hours after it left the Yaizu Port in central Japan on its way to South America for tuna fishing.
The ship got caught in rough seas and strong winds, then hit some rocks. The captain called for help five hours later. It was reported that the ship told the rescuers that one crew member was missing within two hours of their arrival.
The coast guard sent three ships and three helicopters with special rescue teams to where a big ship got stuck near Kozushima Island. Kozushima Island is part of the Izu group and is about 170 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.
The TV station NHK showed the crew standing on the ship as the waves hit it. They were waiting for a helicopter to rescue them one by one.
The boat had 20 people from Indonesia and 5 people from Japan, including the captain, the coast guard said.
The man who was thrown into the water was found on the shore and was declared dead at a nearby clinic. He was the main engineer on the ship and was a 67-year-old man from Japan.
We don’t know right away why the ship’s engine stopped working and lost power.
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24 fishermen saved from partially submerged ship off coast of Japan
