80 injured aboard ferry after suspected collision with marine animal in Sea of Japan
by japantimes.co.jp 10 Mar 2019 03:28 PDT
More than 80 people were injured after this jetfoil ferry hit what may have been a marine animal while on the way to Sado Island in Niigata on Saturday © KYODO
Eighty people were injured Saturday after a jetfoil ferry apparently hit a marine animal off Sado Island in the Sea of Japan, according to the Japan Coast Guard. Thirteen people sustained serious injuries, the coast guard said.
The collision at around 12:15 p.m. did not prevent the jetfoil from reaching its destination on Sado Island, according to ferry operator Sado Steam Ship Co. A 15-cm crack was found at the stern.
Coast guard officials are investigating the cause of the incident. The vessel may have hit a whale or some other creature, they said.
The vessel, carrying 121 passengers and four crew, had left Niigata Port at 11:30 a.m. It arrived at Ryotsu Port at around 1:30 p.m.
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