KYODO NEWS



 

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper that caught fire in waters off the country's southwestern coast capsized and sank Monday, according to the local coast guard office.

One crewman remains unaccounted for after the Ukushima went up in flames on Sunday. The fire was extinguished after the ship toppled on its side shortly after midnight, allowing the coast guard to begin search operations.

The coast guard has launched a search and rescue operation for the missing crewman inside the sunken ship using divers, while the MSDF has launched an investigation of the incident.

The minesweeper, carrying a crew of about 40, reported a fire in the engine room to the 7th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Fukuoka Prefecture around 9:40 a.m. Sunday when it was sailing some 2.5 kilometers off Oshima Island in the prefecture.

Another MSDF minesweeper, the Toyoshima, which joined the coast guard in the fire-fighting and rescue operation, reported around 2 p.m. that the fire on the Ukushima was contained, but a flare-up was confirmed later.

The Ukushima's crew had completed evacuation to the Toyoshima by around 3:45 p.m., but an engine room crewman, later identified as 33-year-old petty officer 3rd class Tatsunori Koga, was found not to be present.

One crewman in his 20s who suffered a non-life-threatening injury was taken to hospital.

At the time of the incident, Koga and the crew member who was sent to the hospital were on duty in the engine room, where the fire is believed to have started.

The Ukushima, which left an MSDF base in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, earlier Sunday, was conducting a drill while sailing to Kagoshima Prefecture.