7 missing after boat capsizes off Senkaku islands

Tokyo, The Gulf Observer: Japan’s coast guard said Monday it was searching for seven people missing after their boat capsized and was spotted in waters off the Senkaku islands.

The overturned boat was spotted on Sunday afternoon, drifting in waters north of the islands by a Japanese navy patrol in the area, coast guard spokesman Keisuke Nakao told AFP.

The crew are one Taiwanese and six Indonesians, he added.

“We have been searching the area with patrol ships and helicopters since receiving the information at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday” from the Maritime Self-Defense Force, he said.

Local media in Japan said the boat was Taiwanese, but the coast guard said it had few details yet on the vessel, though it “seems to be a fishing boat”.