Ships collide on Yangtze River, 14 missing

An oil tanker carrying 3,000 tons of gasoline collided with a gravel ship on the Yangtze River on Thursday morning. At present, 14 crew members on board the vessels are missing.

The accident happened at 3:39am about 1.5 nautical miles southeast of the lightship in the Yangtze River Estuary. 

The oil tanker’s deck caught fire and the gravel ship sank after the collision. All 17 crew members involved, 14 in the oil tanker, three in the gravel ship, fell into the water.

As of 8am, search and rescue personnel had saved three people.

The Shanghai Transportation Commission initiated an emergency response quickly after the accident.

Salvage boats, helicopters and aircraft from police, fishery and other departments were dispatched to the scene by the Maritime Search and Rescue Center.

Emergency measures have been taken to ensure the safety of surrounding waterway traffic, including issuing navigation warnings and setting up position indicators for the sunken ship and on-site warning areas.

One of the rescued crew members has been sent for medical treatment. The person suffers fracture and burns without fatal injuries, hospital officials said. The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.