Japan ferry burning off coast, passengers evacuated

Dozens of passengers were evacuated from a ferry off the coast of northern Japan on Friday after a fire broke out, but one crew member was missing, officials and local media said.

A distress call was made at 5:32 pm local time (0832 GMT) as the Sunflower Daisetsu with 94 people aboard -- 71 passengers and 23 crew members --  sailed about 55 kilometres (34 miles) off the coast of the northernmost island Hokkaido, public broadcaster NHK reported.

NHK and Jiji Press news agency said that all the passengers and crew -- except the captain who remained on board and the one missing crew member -- safely left the ferry on lifeboats and were evacuated to other vessels.

The Japanese coastguard said flames were spotted coming from a truck aboard the ferry and that it was working to put out the blaze.

It was not immediately clear how the fire broke out.

The coastguard said it had dispatched 15 patrol boats and five planes to the scene while four other ships sailing nearby joined in the operation.

The ferry -- which was carrying more than 100 transport truck trailers, cars and motorcyles -- had left from a port northeast of Tokyo earlier Friday bound for the city of Tomakomai, a trip of several hundred kilometres.