Commemorating 20th Anniversary of Ehime Maru
Survivors and bereaved families of victims of the fatal collision between high school fishing training ship Ehime Maru and a U.S. submarine commemorate the 20th anniversary of the accident on February 10.
By NIPPON TV NEWS 24 JAPANhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C42VPdF_0Xo&feature=youtu.be
High school fishing training ship Ehime Maru sank after a U.S. nuclear submarine slammed into it during a rapid-surfacing drill. Nine people aboard Ehime Maru died. They include four students at Uwajima Fisheries High School, which owned the ship. The memorial took place at the high school in Ehime Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
A participant rang a bell retrieved from the sunken ship nine times for the nine victims. Participants observed a moment of silence at 8:43 a.m., the time in Japan when the accident occurred. A ceremony also took place at a Honolulu park that overlooks the accident site. Bereaved families from Japan did not attend the event this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the former captain of the submarine USS Greeneville has made public his letter of apology to the families. In the open letter, retired Commander Scott Waddle wrote that "the collision was avoidable" and that he had failed to perform his duties to prevent the accident.
