Tragedy met a family of three during a day trip to swim in the Genkai Sea off Fukuoka Prefecture on Sunday after the father of two boys drowned and one son went missing.
Kazuhiro Fukuyoshi, 49, and his two sons, aged 15 and 19, had come from their home in Kita-Kyushu City to swim on the coast in Munakata City. At around 2:20 p.m., Fukuyoshi got into difficulties and went under. The older son ran to get help from a nearby fishing boat, while the 15-year-old swam out to look for his father. About 40 minutes later, the man was found dead, floating face down. However, there was no sign of the younger son.
Police resumed a search for the boy on Monday morning.
© News reports
17 Comments
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Proffesor
Tragedy indeed. M.H.S.R.P
JackDorff
In this country where no blow-up ring should be left at home, the start of summer has once again been heralded with a day at the beach resulting in tragedy.
ironchef
sad story indeed. however, i think much of this could be averted if people here actually learn how to swim outside of a 1m pool. This should be necessary given that this country is an island.
IchyaWarFare
sad...I hope the son is found is soon...
FryingMonkey
A tragedy indeed and however unlikely I do hope the boy is found unharmed. As for ironchef, where do you get your info? That is about the most idiotic think I have heard in some time.
spudman
Yes a tragedy. The love of family runs through the viens of all people regardless of nationality. RIP.
Den Den
Tragedy. But ironwolf is right. I have talked to countless fisherman who can't swim, as well as staff on passenger ferries.
scoobydoo
Agree with ironchef also, last week I made the same comment "for a country surrounded by sea, they are the worst I know of for watermanship"
MisterM1
very sad such thing!!!
helloklitty
I've been there many times, but never felt the urge to actually swim there. The beach is strewn with garbage and is rocky.
Ah_so
"however, i think much of this could be averted if people here actually learn how to swim outside of a 1m pool."
Junior High School swimming pools are never deeper that a metre and I presume many learn to swim in such pools. Here is a little piece from JT on this topic:
"Police said the pool was 90 cm deep and the girl dived from a 25 cm-high diving block as part of practice for a swimming competition which was scheduled to be held by the local city council on Thursday."
Diving blocks by 90cm pools - only in Japan...
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/10-year-old-schoolgirl-suffers-head-injury-after-diving-into-pool-in-yamagata
polarmalik
Very tragic indeed - the father may have drowned due to forceful pull of the undercurrents and got knocked-out. A word of caution to all swimmers in the Sea of Japan which may still have a surviving population of Japanese Mermaids and Mermen living undersea - they are very cute looking human look alike, with long smooth jet-black hair and upper body having soft smooth skin like silk and lower hip below tail-end covered with fish scales. They are known to be carnivorous and very fond of eating fresh human flesh - in a the ancient times their victims were mostly sailors who had not seen land or women for months on end and were an easy prey. They may still exist and I suggest that the Japanese people who go fishing or swimming be extra vigilant.....Farakh Malik
Informed
Swimming ability aside, how about a life-jacket?
ironchef
I see your question has been answered by the others. Think before you write, who's the idiot now?
ironchef
that is addressed to FryingMonkey
usaexpat
Sad, I wonder what happened? That isn't particularily rough or dangerous water. I've been there a few times and never sensed an under current.
Icewind007
Unfortunately, and understandably, most people do not swim with a life jacket. And assuming that they were going out for a swim, we can also assume they knew how to at least swim.
I don't know the conditions on that beach, but people that are not experienced with beaches may be caught off guard by rip currents. Now FYI, undertows and rip currents do not pull people underwater. Rip currents pull people (or whatever gets caught in them) away from the beach. Undertows may knock a person off balance in very shallow areas in normal beach conditions (meaning not extreme which I highly doubt there was).
My best guess is that they were caught in a rip current. They tried to fight the current by swimming directly back against it (bad idea) instead of swimming sideways out the current before swimming back. They in turn became exhausted and drowned... the bodies would naturally fall out the current and be brought back to shore. I guess this because the surviving son asked for help from a boater, which suggests they were taken out a distance from the shore. And with lack of mention that they were beaten or bleeding, I am guessing it was not due to rocky conditions.