Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Three members of a family of four drowned while snorkeling off the Irabujima coast of Okinawa on Monday afternoon.
The fire department received an emergency call at around 4 p.m. reporting that four people in the water were in difficulties due to strong currents. Fuji TV reported that a helicopter was dispatched to rescue the four because waves were too rough for a rescue boat. Shigekazu Kamei, 47, and his 72-year-old father-in-law Shinske Ieari were already in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest when they were pulled up from the water. They were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Kamei's 12-year-old son Rintaro Kamei was found a short time later, also in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest. He, too, was pronounced dead.
The fourth family member, Kamei's 8-year-old daughter, was rescued by a swimmer at the beach.
NHK reported that the boy and his sister took their life jackets off because they couldn't dive in them. When they were swept away, Kamei and his father-in-law tried to save them but they also went under.
The family had come to Okinawa from Hyogo Prefecture. According to the Okinawa Meteorological Observatory, the area where the family had been snorkeling was experiencing unstable conditions with some waves reaching as high as two meters.
© Japan Today
15 Comments
Login to comment
Yubaru
Again, and again and again, totally preventable, and so sad. I feel for the surviving members of the family.
Kobe White Bar Owner
The sea is a dangerous place even for strong swimmers. I remember being caught in a rip in Thailand really scary, i remembered to not fight it and instead swim parallel to the beach. A really tragic story and i hope the 8year old has cousins to live with. R.I.P!
Stay safe people!
smithinjapan
"...the area where the family had been snorkeling was experiencing unstable conditions with some waves reaching as high as two meters."
So, why on earth is that area open to swimmers? If it's dangerous, and there are not adequate measures in place, such as life guards, to deal with possible difficulties, CLOSE IT TO THE PUBLIC! It may put a damper on the summer fun, but it would make such deaths preventable. RIP to the three victims, and my heartfelt thanks to the swimmer who saved the little girl.
peterl
You think a simple sign an fence will stop stupid people from swimming in an area? I don't know where you come from, but I know of so many incidents where young stupid people ignore signs and warnings and swim in dangerous waters anyway. People even do stupid things not involving water, such as taking selfies with wild animals and then paying the price for their stupidity.
I'm not an experienced swimmer, but even I know not to go to an area where other swimmers, especially locals, are not seen swimming; there is probably a good reason for it. Deadly currents and undertows are sometimes hard to spot and can sometimes vary in strength. I'm just surprised that considering how much water surrounds Japan and how many sharks there could be in the water, that there hasn't been many incidents of shark-related fatalities or attacks, as I hear of in other parts of the world.
gogogo
wow seriously sad.
Hank Standerford
We just had a typhoon pass a few days before. The water is no where to be after a typhoon. Sea is sill big.
cleo
According to this source - http://www.daily.co.jp/society/main/2015/08/10/0008292748.shtml - all four were wearing life jackets, but the 8-year-old for some reason took hers off and got into difficulties. The two men drowned when they went to her aid.
What a horrible thing to happen.
There are lots of beaches in Okinawa that are not officially open to the public, but people still swim there because the coral is particularly good, the fish are particularly plentiful and pretty, etc. I can't say I'm totally innocent of swimming in such places...but a 72-year-old and two children, in 2-metre waves? Not a good idea. And a sea that rough would have very poor visibility for snorkelling.
WA4TKG
I have been a Certified Open Water Diver (SCUBA) for almost 40 years. When there is a Typhoon approaching, or even AFTER is has left the area, the oceans here is NO PLACE to be....tank or NO tank. This sort of tragedy repeats itself ALL too often in Okinawa.
Monozuki
The family's trip to Okinawa that would have otherwise been fun turned into a deeply sad and unfortunate event. RIP.
And it tears my heart apart to think of the surviving 8-year-old daughter.
MyTimeIsYourTime
The people trying to save this kid should have not tried. They wer obviously lousy swimmers too.
This whole lesson should emphasized publicly and loudly.YuriOtani
I hope and pray the 8 year old girl has a relative. It would be awful to be alone so early in life.
DaDude
All it says is that the area has experienced 2 meter waves and unstable conditions "recently". People here act like they were snorkeling in the middle of a typhoon. The waters may have been calm at the time of their activity and picked up as the time went on. There are plenty of people including myself that likes to snorkel in areas with less people sometimes to get the full experience instead of other people's fins flapping in my face. Most people in this situation know you swim at your own risk.
RIP to her family and I hope she can eventually overcome this.
SweetPretzels15
Oh no, all at once. Even more water accidents.
Yubaru
It's a natural beach, and the tourists are often wan in this case as well, were warned about the waves being too high.
According to the local news last night all of the children removed their life jackets while they were snorkeling, for whatever reason, and that played a HUGE part in the drownings.
Peter Payne
Why did the 12 year old have to die too?