An eight-year-old boy visiting Ishigaki Island with his family drowned while snorkeling about 40-meters off a beach in Ishigaki, around noon on Tuesday.

According to Yaeyama Police, eight-year-old Toraki Shimokoriyama from Tokyo was on a sightseeing trip with his family. Police say the boy had gone snorkeling about 10 a.m. A little later his father noticed his son had disappeared, and after search found the boy’s body about two meters depth in the water. The father recovered the boy and took him to a hospital but attempts to revive the boy were in vain and he was confirmed dead about an hour later.

The site where the boy drowned is treacherous as the bottom has sudden deep spots between the rocks. Ishigaki City has posted a sign to notify swimmers of the danger, but officials now say they would post more detailed signs at more places on the beach.

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