The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) force from the port of Hakodate, in northern Japan, is searching for six Vietnamese sailors who reportedly jumped off a Taiwanese fishing boat last Saturday.        The JCG at Hakodate, located on Hokkaido, on Monday said the search began on Sunday after they received a report that the sailors jumped into the sea in the Strait of Tsugaru, the Kyodo news agency reported. The JCG said that during the search, they found three lifebuoys off the port of Ohata, Mitsu city, Aomori province.

The buoys displayed the name of the fishing boat from the Taiwanese city of Kaoshiung that the six sailors jumped from.     The JCG of Zone 1 in Otaru, west of Hokkaido, has sent patrol boats and planes to search for the missing men. The agency has collated statements from the boat’s captain and other sailors, but their information did not help in the search. Some sailors on that boat said they saw six Vietnamese men, aged 18-23, jump into the sea when the ship was about 18 km away from Esanmisaki, Hokkaido, at 8:50 pm on October 11. They were not wearing lifejackets when they jumped, witnesses said.    Relevant Japanese agencies are working with the Japanese Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Taipei on the incident and are investigating the case. JCG forces are continuing to search for the missing sailors. According to the JCG office in Aomori, they have yet to identify the body of a man which drifted ashore in Kazamaura village on Sunday. The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper  that they have received information about the missing men and are working with local authorities to verify the news.

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