One person has died and six were missing after a Taiwanese fishing boat capsized near disputed Japanese islands on Sunday afternoon. 

Local reports said the overturned boat was spotted yesterday, drifting in waters north of the islands by a Japanese navy patrol in the area.

Japan coastguard spokesman Keisuke Nakao was quoted as saying by agencies that the boat was found in waters off the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

The islands are controlled by Japan but claimed by China under the name Diaoyu, and it was reported that there were seven people aboard the boat who have become victims on the islands.

Coastguard spokesman Masaya Tokita said that around 9.15 am Monday, a body was found inside the cabin by divers, and an ID on the body suggested it was an Indonesian man. It was also said that the dead body is likely to be of one of the seven missing crew that consisted of one Taiwanese national and six Indonesians.

Local media said the coastguard is continuing the search for the crew with patrol vessels and aircraft.

Patrol ships and helicopters were sent for the rescue operation after Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force first informed the coastguard on Sunday afternoon around 1.30 pm.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry later said in a statement that the vessel was a Taiwan-registered fishing boat and that the National Rescue Command Center had contacted Taiwanese fishing boats near the site of the accident to assist in the search. Taiwan and Japan’s coastguards have also dispatched ships for search and rescue.