Rescuers announced Sunday they had found nine people, most of them in an unconfirmed condition, after a ship with 26 people on board sank off the northern coast of Japan the day before.
“As of 11:00 (02:00 GMT), a local police aircraft rescued four people, and a Self-Defense Force aircraft rescued a person from the water or from rocky coastal areas,” the Coast Guard said in a press release.
Local officials and the media have previously stated that the condition of the nine rescued people has not yet been confirmed.
They were taken to medical facilities, and state television showed at least one person lying on a stretcher as rescuers transferred him from a helicopter to an ambulance.
Search and rescue operations continue for other passengers missing after the Kazu I boat crashed, which sent out a distress call at 13:13 (04:13 GMT) on Saturday warning it was sinking in icy waters off the northern coast. eastern Japan.
The cruise ship, which was carrying 24 passengers, including two children and two crew members, said its bow was flooded.
The Coast Guard sent seven boats and five aircraft to participate in the search and rescue operation, joined by police and army helicopters, in addition to local fishing boats.
