Plane joins search for missing cruise ship in Japan

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force sent a plane to participate in the search for the cruise ship KAZU 1, which went missing off the coast of the northern island of Hokkaido on Saturday. According to TASS, this was reported by the NHK TV channel.

KAZU 1 at about 13:15 local time (08:15 Baku time) sent a flooding signal, after which communication with the vessel was interrupted. On board were 24 passengers, including two children, as well as the captain and his assistant. The helicopter and ships of the Japanese Coast Guard that arrived at the scene could not find the vessel, the search operation continues.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had interrupted his business trip to southwestern Kumamoto Prefecture and rushed to Tokyo to coordinate the incident, according to Kyodo news agency.