Two people are confirmed dead after two sightseeing boats carrying 21 passengers and crew capsized within minutes of each other off the coast of Japan's Okinawa prefecture on Monday, March 16, local news outlet The Asahi Shimbun has reported.
Both incidents occurred in rough seas approximately 1.5 kilometres off Henoko at around 10:12 local time on Monday, leading officials of the Japan Coast Guard to suspect that the ill-fated vessels Fukutsu and Heiwa Maru overturned as a result of being struck by large waves.
The search and rescue effort lasted a little over an hour, and all passengers and crew aboard the two boats were pulled out of the water. Tragically, however, two people were later pronounced dead.
The deceased victims have been identified as Fukutsu's 71-year-old captain and a 17-year-old secondary school student from Kyoto prefecture who was among the passengers.
Two other individuals meanwhile suffered injuries.
The two vessels were carrying 18 students on a tour of the waters off Henoko near an ongoing US military base relocation project. However, the coast guard said there was no supervising teacher on board either boat when the incidents occurred.
The coast guard confirmed that all 21 people who were on the two boats were already wearing lifejackets by the time rescuers arrived in the area.
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