Urasoe Police received an emergency phone call reporting a possible person drowning off the coast of the Makiminato district in Urasoe, Saturday morning.

Naha Coast Guard dispatched a patrol boat to the area to search for the victim, and two hours later they found 63-year-old Tomomi Oshiro floating some 700 meters from the shore. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead the same day.

According to Naha Coast Guard, the woman had gone out with a friend to gather shells during the low tide. The high tide on Saturday morning was at 7:48 a.m. and Coast Guard officials suspect “She might have been surprised by the high tide, and was swept out to the ocean.”

The investigation into the accident is continuing.

• 
• NO DATA