Nine Japanese recreational scuba-divers including a guide were reported missing after failing to return from a coldwater dive off Bentenjima, a small, rocky island near Japan’s northernmost city Wakkanai, yesterday (4 April).
Drysuit divers typically enter the sea from small boats on the sheltered side of the island and exit back to the boat or the island shore.
The Japan Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation, with its patrol boats assisted by vessels including fishing-boats in the vicinity, and succeeded in rescuing the entire group later in the day – within two hours, according to some reports.
Wakkanai lies at the northern tip of Hokkaido, where the cold waters of the Sea of Japan mix with those of the Sea of Okhotsk and strong, shifting currents are often a feature. At this time of year sea temperatures can range between 2 and 6°C, with surface currents of up to 1-2 knots.
The divers had been carried away from their planned exit-point by the strong currents. A major concern for the rescuers had been the risk to them of hypothermia, but all nine divers were reported to be uninjured.
Diving attractions in the area include Steller’s sea lions and seals in an underwater environment of coldwater corals and kelp forests, and often high underwater visibility.
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AloJapan.com