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.