Rescuers are searching
for the 19 people missing from Saturday's ship collision in the
East China Sea, but they have little chance to survive due to cold
weather, a Zhejiang Maritime Affairs Bureau official said Sunday
night.
A Liberian ship collided
with a local fishing boat at about 11:40 p.m. on Saturday in the
sea off the eastern Zhejiang Province on its way from Taiwan
Province to the Republic of Korea.
The fishing boat, with
20 people on board, capsized and only one was rescued.
"It is almost impossible
for people to survive more than 12 hours in such cold water," said
an official with the bureau who declined to give his
name.
"Most of the missing
people are local fishermen and the others are from the neighboring
provinces," said the official.
The provincial search
and rescue center sent more than ten searching boats to the scene
immediately and a helicopter arrived to assist in the operation
around 6:45 a.m. on Sunday.
More than 20 fishing
boats also participated in the rescue work.
Investigation into the
cause of the collision is underway.
(Xinhua News Agency
December 17, 2007)