Authorities in Japan have placed a cargo vessel captain under arrest in connection with a collision that left one person dead just off the country's southern coast earlier this week.
The 28-year-old suspect has been charged with failure to exercise the necessary precautions after it was confirmed that his ship, the 492-ton gravel carrier Sada Maru No 38, had collided with a yacht in poor visibility near Hoto Island in Oita prefecture on the morning (local time) of Wednesday, August 13.
Shortly after being notified of the incident, the Japan Coast Guard despatched six vessels and a fixed-wing aircraft to the area to conduct search and rescue (SAR) operations.
A 70-year-old male was recovered unconscious from the surrounding waters that same morning but was later pronounced deceased after being brought to hospital.
The coast guard had earlier said that the exact number of people who were on the yacht at the time of the incident is unknown. SAR operations are therefore still ongoing in an attempt to locate those individuals who are still missing.
Officials believe the gravel carrier, which has since been detained, did not slow down or stop at the time the collision occurred.
The captain had reportedly told investigators that the yacht "disappeared" following the collision and probably sank.