Iranian oil tanker collides with vessel off China coast, 32 crew members missing

BEIJING: Thirty-two crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, have gone missing after an oil tanker collided with a cargo ship off the coast of east China.

The Panama-registered oil tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of oil condensate, caught fire after it collided with a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter at around 8 pm yesterday, the transport ministry said.

The collision took place in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River's estuary.

The 32 missing crew members were all from the oil tanker.

All the 21 crew members of the bulk freighter have been rescued, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels for search and rescue.

After the coordination of China Maritime Search and Rescue Centre, South Korea has dispatched a coast guard ship and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist in the rescue operation, the report said.