NAGASAKI (Kyodo) A Japanese fishing boat that sank off Hirado Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, with 12 crew members still missing was salvaged Tuesday after five months under water.
Starting the operation in the early morning, Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Co. used a ship-mounted crane to pull the 135-ton fishing boat Daiei Maru No. 11 about 80 meters to the surface at about 10 a.m.
The deck was tangled in fishing nets and the ship's fuel had leaked into the sea.
The boat will be towed into shallow waters and Japan Coast Guard officials are expected to start examining it as early as Saturday.
"I have faith that my son is inside the boat. Even if it turns out to be just his belongings, I hope he will come back soon," said Machiko Sakamoto, 56, mother of one of the missing crew members, Kozo Sakamoto.
The fishing boat sank April 14 in bad weather while sailing to fishing grounds in the East China Sea. Of the vessel's 22 crew members, 10 were rescued.
