31 missing from 3 fishing boats off east China

A total of 31 people were reported missing Saturday after two fishing boats capsized and one lost contact off east China coast, local authorities said.

A fishing boat from east China's Shandong Province sunk in the East China Sea Saturday after being rammed by a cargo ship, leaving 17 crew members missing.

The maritime and fishery bureau in the city of Weihai received the report of the accident at 6 a.m..

An initial investigation showed that the local fishing boat with 19 on board was suspectedly hit by a Maltese cargo ship in the waters of the East China Sea.

Two crew members have been saved. Ships from the maritime authorities, the Donghai Fleet of the Chinese navy and in the nearby waters are searching for the missing.

Meanwhile, the maritime search and rescue center in the northeast city of Dalian received two reports on Saturday morning saying one fishing boat lost contact and another that had been missing for over 50 hours was found capsized in the sea waters east of the city.

The center said six crew members were aboard the first boat and eight were on the second boat.

The search and rescue operations are under way.

Source: XINHUA