Lake Biwa is seen in this file photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter. (Mainichi)

       OTSU -- An 8-year-old boy has drowned in western Japan's Lake Biwa, local police have said.

       At around 2 p.m. on July 25, police received an emergency call reporting that a boy was drowning at the Matsunoura Beach on Lake Biwa in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture. According to Shiga Prefectural Police's Otsu Kita Police Station, Ryuki Iwasa, a second-grade elementary school student from the city of Kyoto, was pulled from the water by people nearby and taken to hospital, but was later confirmed dead.

       Iwasa was discovered floating face down about 13 meters from the shore. It is believed that he was swimming using a snorkel. The boy had visited the beach in a group of 19 people, including his family.

       (Japanese original by Misaki Morokuma, Otsu Bureau)

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