Page 9 - Aruba Today
P. 9
WORLD NEWS 9
Wednesday 2 December
Japan probes mystery boats carrying dead bodies off coast
MARI YAMAGUCHI equipment, nets and signs This photo shows a ship of unknown nationality in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, central Japan.
Associated Press written in Korean, including Japanese authorities are investigating nearly a dozen wooden boats carrying decomposing bod-
TOKYO (AP) — They drift one carrying a sign saying ies found drifting off the northwestern coast over the past month. Coast Guard officials said Tues-
into seas near Japan by the “Korean People’s Army,” day, Dec. 1, 2015, they have found at least 11 shoddy boats, carrying the bodies of unknown
dozens every year, ghostly the North Korean army. nationality since late October.
wrecked ships thought to The officials said they could
come from impoverished not say for certain, but the (Kyodo News via AP)
North Korea. poor condition and small
Japanese authorities said size of the 10- to 12-meter- In recent years, fishermen
Tuesday they are inves- long (33-foot- to 40-foot- from food-short North Ko-
tigating nearly a dozen long) vessels are not typical rea have increasingly for-
wooden boats carrying of South Korea or Japan, ayed into Japanese waters
decomposing bodies that said coast guard spokes- hunting squid, and some
were found off the coun- man Yoshiaki Hiroto. He of the boats found adrift
try’s northwestern coast said evidence suggests the have been carrying squid-
over the past month. boats are from the Korean catching equipment. They
In most cases, the bodies Peninsula, though he de- are usually ordered away
are in such bad shape af- clined to identify the coun- when caught by the Japa-
ter being at sea for weeks try. nese coast guard since the
that it’s been impossible to The recent spate of arriv- two countries lack a fishing
determine their cause of als has drawn attention, agreement.q
death, officials say. though such discoveries
On Nov. 20, officials found are not out of the ordinary:
10 bodies in three boats dozens of such wrecked
off the coast of Ishikawa boats drift toward the Ja-
prefecture. Two days later, pan every year.
another wooden boat was So far this year, 34 mystery
found off nearby Fukui pre- boats have drifted over,
fecture with six skulls, one including the 11 found be-
nearly intact body with a tween late October and
head, and various other November. Last year, Ja-
bones and remains, coast pan found 65 of them. In
guard official Yuka Amao 2013, there were 80, ac-
told The Associated Press. cording to the coast guard.
Coast guard officials said The number tends to rise
at least 11 shoddy fishing during the fall and winter
boats carrying the bod- season because of prevail-
ies have arrived since late ing winds from the north-
October. Most are carrying west, Hiroto said.
Pipe bomb explodes in Istanbul, wounding 5
MEHMET GUZEL Atilla Aydiner, the mayor shields to secure the perim-
SUZAN FRASER for Istanbul’s Bayrampasa eter of the site in case of a
Associated Press district, who said five peo- second blast.
ISTANBUL (AP) — A pipe ple were hurt. Kurdish rebels fighting Tur-
bomb left on a highway There was no immediate key for autonomy in the
overpass near an Istanbul claim of responsibility. mainly Kurdish southeast of
subway station exploded The private Dogan news the country have carried
Tuesday, wounding five agency said the explosion out bombings in Istanbul in
people, a local official said. occurred seconds after a the past and frequently tar-
The blast caused some bus carrying police drove get Turkey’s security forces.
panic in the city, which is past, suggesting that po- Fighting between rebels
on edge following a spate lice could have been the belonging to the Kurdistan
of deadly bombings in Tur- target of the attack. Workers’ Party, or PKK, and
key. The bomb was left at Aydiner said a number of government forces flared
the start of the evening rush vehicles were damaged up again in July, killing hun-
hour near the Bayrampasa in the blast, including a dreds of people and derail-
subway station on Istan- bus and a car. Authorities ing a fragile peace process
bul’s European side, said deployed riot police with with the Kurds.q
