Officials Probe Reason Suspicious Ship Sank
Japanese officials were investigating whether crew members aboard a suspected North Korean spy ship may have blown up their vessel on purpose to avoid capture, a coast guard spokesman said.
Coast guard official Tadashi Kurogi said a sailor looking through a night-vision lens saw a flash aboard the boat about two minutes before it sank, according to spokesman Nobuhito Murakami, who quoted Kurogi as saying an explosion may have ripped a hole in the ship’s hull.
The ship sank late Saturday, ending a six-hour chase by Japanese patrol boats that culminated in a firefight.
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