China's Ministry of Transport Thursday sent two airplanes to search for missing crew members who were aboard a fishing boat, possibly a Chinese boat, sunk following a collision with a Republic of Korea (ROK) cargo ship in waters near the coast of the ROK.

One helicopter and and fixed-wing aircraft took off from Penglai Airport in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province, at 2:20 p.m..

The China Maritime Search and Rescue Center said it had received information that a ROK cargo boat, named "Ocean Ace No. 3" and carrying liquid chemical products, was heading from Yantai to the ROK when it collided with a fishing boat, possibly a Chinese boat, in the northeastern Yellow Sea and close to the waters of the ROK Wednesday.

Reports say the fishing boat immediately sunk and the crew has gone missing.

The exact number of missing crew members is not yet available.