Uruguayan firefighters have found the remains of eleven crew members, including nine Chinese, on a burning ship, Fire Department Public Relations Chief Jorge Roqueta told Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

The fishing vessel Simeiz, sailing under a Ukrainian flag but owned by a Spanish company, caught fire at 3:12 AM (local time) while docked in Montevideo harbor on Wednesday.

It had 39 people on board, and was carrying 160,000 liters of heavy fuel, 6,000 kilograms of ammonia and forty 200-liter heavy oil tanks.

An Indonesian crew member and the Ukrainian captain were also killed, Roqueta said, adding that it is difficult to identify the bodies after the effects of the fire.

He said the cause of the fire is still unclear and that experts have started their investigations.

The Chinese ambassador to Uruguay, Wang Yongzhan, said 15 crew members were Chinese, all from the central province of Henan, and the six who were rescued are all in good condition.

(Xinhua News Agency June 24, 2005)