A yacht and a cargo ship collided in waters off southern Japan on Wednesday, with one person confirmed dead and several others reported missing, officials said.
The captain of a 492-ton gravel carrier reported to the Japan Coast Guard that it collided with a yacht close to Hoto Island in Oita Prefecture, coast guard spokesperson Nanaka Yoshida said.
"We discovered one person at around 10 a.m. and passed them over to emergency services," she said.
According to the Oita Coast Guard Office, the person taken to the hospital was Makoto Yamamoto, 70, from the city of Oita, who was in a state of cardiac arrest before being confirmed dead.
The coast guard is continuing the search for several others who were supposed to be on board the yacht, "but we don't know the details of the yacht or how many were on board," she said.
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