Nine Chinese sailors are still missing, two days after a ship collision in the Malacca Straits, near the Malaysian city of Port Dick-son. The 16 rescued Chinese sailors are being cared for in Malaysia.
Fourteen seamen from the Chinese mainland and two from Taiwan were rescued and are being assisted by China's embassy in Malaysia. A sailor from Taiwan remains hospitalized.
Malaysia has organized a 200 member rescue team to search for survivors using boats, helicopters and planes.
The huge fire on the oil tanker has been put out but the vessel remains too hot for rescuers to board it. Malaysian search crews hope to be able to do so on Friday.
The collision happened Tuesday when a British cargo ship struck the tanker, which was loaded with highly volatile naphtha. The vessel is registered in Libya and belongs to a company in Taiwan. Twenty-five crew members were on board -- 23 from the Chinese Mainland, and two from Taiwan. Sixteen were able to escape in a lifeboat.
(CCTV August 21, 2009)
