At least 15 people were killed and one was missing after two
ships collided, sinking one at the estuary of the Yangtze River,
the Shanghai Maritime authority said on Wednesday.
The cargo ship, with 17 crewmembers on board, sank after
crashing into another cargo ship at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the
No. 3 anchorage. Only one member of the crew was rescued.
The ship that sunk, belonging to the China Ocean Aviation Group
Inc., has been hoisted out of the water.
The other ship, belonging to the Liaoning-based Chengyu Shipping
Co. Ltd., was carrying 6,000 tons of diesel oil and 16 crewmembers
when the accident occurred.
There were no reports of either an oil leak and crew injuries on
this ship so far.
Local authorities have started an investigation into the cause
of the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)
