Moscow - SPA
As many as 10 people drowned after a Russian border patrol vessel capsized off the coast of Kunashir, a Russia-controlled island north of Japan, officials confirmed on Saturday, according to dpa.
The 10 passengers, among them members of Russia's Federal Security Service - responsible for the country's border control - and several maritime experts, were on their way to a larger ship off the coast of Japan when a wave caused the vessel to capsize.
Russian authorities confirmed that four bodies had been recovered thus far, news agency Itar-Tass reported.
The remaining six passengers are very unlikely to have survived the icy water temperatures, officials said.