Rescuers are still searching for nine missing people after their fishing boat sank Thursday morning in waters off Putian City in east China's Fujian Province.

One crew member from the fishing boat "MinXiayu 3203" had been rescued, but the others were still missing, said a spokesman with the Fujian Provincial Maritime Affairs Administration.

The accident happened at around 1 a.m. when the fishing boat carrying 10 people sank after it collided with a cargo vessel off Putian's Meizhou Island, said the spokesman.

Two rescue vessels from the provincial sea police department arrived at where the accident occurred around 2 p.m., he said.

The cargo vessel's whereabouts and registration information were not currently known.