The Japan Coast Guard continued searching Saturday in the East China Sea for two fishermen whose trawler capsized in heavy seas, after rescuing four other crew members in shark-infested waters.
The coast guard found the 30-ton trawler Kasuga Maru overturned off Amami-Oshima Island at around 6:35 p.m. Friday, but initially found no trace of the six crew members, JCG sources said.
The coast guard picked up four of the six members in a rubber boat after spotting them around 10:45 p.m. Friday at a point about 120 km west-northwest of the island. But of the four, Hiroshi Sasaki, 46, of Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, and Kazunori Matsuyama, 46, of Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, both fell overboard and are missing. Sasaki was unconscious when he was first picked up.
A coast guardsman also fell into the sea but was rescued.
The other two fishermen in the rubber boat were Tsutomu Murata, 44, and Akihiko Matsui, 45, both from the city of Kagoshima. Each had sustained leg injuries from apparent shark attacks.
Separately, the skipper, Katsuto Kitagawa, 46, also from the city of Kagoshima, and Chikara Shimoike, 40, of Minami Satsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture, were rescued around 6:15 a.m. Saturday at a point 15 km from the capsized boat. They were found floating on a rubber tube and were not injured.