(CNN) — Japan’s coast guard sent patrol boats and planes to search for a tourist boat that went missing with 26 people on board on Saturday following it was reported sinking off the northern island of Hokkaido, public broadcaster NHK said.
Authorities lost contact with the crew of the Kazu 1 ship following the crew reported that water was flooding the stern of the ship and it had started to sink, NHK said. The crew also said that people on board were wearing life jackets and that the ship was listing at an angle of 30 degrees, NHK said.
There were 24 passengers, including two children, on board and two crew members, the broadcaster said.
The management office of a tourist boat with 26 crew and passengers that lost contact following reporting it was taking on water off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
No one was immediately available for comment at the Japan Coast Guard outside normal business hours.
The coast guard received contact from the ship around 1:15 pm (12:15 am ET) and sent five patrol boats and two planes in search, NHK said.
No one answered calls to the office of the company that organizes the Kazu 1 tours. According to its home page, the boat has a capacity of 65 people. Tours of the Shiretoko area typically last regarding three hours, according to the tour company.
The ship left Utoro port around 10 am on Saturday and was expected to return to the port at 1 pm, NHK said. The waves had been high and fishing boats in the area had returned to port by mid-morning.
The tour boat had been in the Shiretoko Peninsula area, in the northern part of Japan’s northernmost island, and was believed to be near Kashinu Falls, NHK said.
