Japan To Probe Collision Of Russia Ship With Japanese Schooner As Soon As Possible -Consul

Umer Jamshaid Published May 28, 2021 | 07:10 AM

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2021) The Japanese marine security service has assured the Russian Consulate General that it will carry out a probe into the incident with the Russian merchant ship Amur as soon as possible, Russian consul in Sapporo Roman Kolesnik told Sputnik.

The Russian vessel with 23 people on board and the Japanese fishing schooner carrying five people collided on Wednesday at about 6 a.m. local time (21:00 GMT on Tuesday), 23 kilometers (14 miles) from Monbetsu in Hokkaido. Five people on board the Japanese ship were rescued by the Amur crew, but three of them were unconscious.

Later in the day, they were confirmed dead.

"The department of the Japanese marine security service in Mombetsu has assured us that it will try to complete the probe as soon as possible. Everyone hopes that this will be completed as soon as possible," Kolesnik said, adding that the exact timeframe is not clear yet.

He added that no crew member of Amur had been detained, all of them stay in Mombetsu voluntarily.