Freighter catches fire off china coast, 15 rescued

Fifteen crewmen on a Panama- registered freighter have been rescued after the vessel carrying 4000 tones of coal caught fire off east china coast.
One person was still stranded on the freighter "Hua Shan", said officials with the maritime safety administration of Shandong Province.
All 16 crewmen are from South Korea. None of the fifteen rescued were injured, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The Shandong maritime rescue centre received a report around 8 pm yesterday that the engine room of the freighter was on fire in waters about 18 sea miles off Chaolian Island, which is about 31 kilometres from Qingdao city.

Fifteen sailors boarded the lifeboat and were rescued by a passing ship, the maritime centre reported last night.