Nine missing sailors from the ship collision in Port of Inchon had still not been found by 7:00?AM on Tuesday, said the Chinese Ministry of Communications.

A Tuvalu-registered cargo ship carrying 17 Chinese sailors ran into a Republic of Koera (ROK) cargo ship at 4:05?AM on Monday in Port of Inchon. As the ship sank, all 17 sailors fell into the water. Three have been confirmed dead and five were rescued.

According to the information that the ROK provided, the ROK maritime police have sent 45 ships, one helicopter and four divers to conduct the on-going search and rescue operation. The Chinese Consul General to the ROK is at the scene to help deal with the accident.

The five sailors who were rescued are in a stable condition.

According to the China Maritime Rescue Center, the owner of theship, registered in Tuvalu, is Tianjin Xinbei Shipping Corp. The ship has been rented by Xinbei International Shipping Corp, (HK).

The company has set up a special leadership group to deal with the accident. It said that these sailors, who mainly come from North China's Hebei and East China's Jiangsu provinces, have a personal accident insurance of US$25,000.
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(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2006)