A dozen rescue vessels continued searching Wednesday for eight people who are missing after two vessels collided in the sea off north China's Tianjin Municipality Tuesday morning.

The Tianjin maritime affairs bureau said the vessels are searching the area 13.38 nautical miles southeast of Dagu District, Tianjin.

The bureau confirmed a collision occurred at 1:45 a.m. Tuesday between a cargo ship and a barge.

One of the nine crew members aboard the barge was rescued before the barge sank. Crews aboard the cargo ship are safe and sound.

Zhang Gaoli, Party chief of Tianjin, has instructed the maritime department to make all-out efforts to rescue the missing and prevent an oil spill.