2 fishermen missing, 4 rescued after boat capsizes off Amami-Oshima Island, Japan

KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) -- The Japan Coast Guard continued searching for two missing fishermen in the East China Sea on Saturday while rescuing four others after their boat capsized off Amami-Oshima Island in southwestern Japan, they said.

The coast guard found the 30-ton trawler Kasuga Maru overturned at around 6:35 p.m. Friday in an area where there are many sharks and all six crew members were missing, they said.

The cause of the accident is unknown but a local weather observatory had issued a strong wind warning near the island, part of Kagoshima Prefecture.

The coast guard picked up four of the six in a rubber boat after spotting them around 10:45 p.m. Friday at a point some 120 kilometers west-northwest of the island. But two of the four fell overboard and went missing again.

The two who remained in the rubber boat had sustained leg injuries after apparent shark attacks, the coast guard said.

Separately, the skipper Katsuto Kitagawa and another man were saved around 6:15 a.m. Saturday at a point 15 km from the accident site, the coast guard said. Read More