At least 31 people went missing today following a collision between two fishing boats and another vessel capsized off China's east coast.
A fishing boat from east China's Shandong Province sunk in the East China Sea after being rammed by a cargo ship, leaving 17 crew members missing.
Thirty-one people have gone missing following the collision, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The maritime and fishery bureau in the city of Weihai received the report of the accident.
An initial investigation showed that the local fishing boat with 19 on board was apparently hit by a Maltese cargo ship in the waters of the East China Sea. Two crew members have been saved, it said.
Ships from the maritime authorities, the Donghai Fleet of the Chinese navy and in the nearby waters are searching for the missing persons.
The maritime search and rescue center in the northeast city of Dalian received two reports, saying one fishing boat lost contact and another had been missing for over 50 hours wasfound capsized in the sea waters.
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.
