Eight people have been rescued and another four are still missing after a fishing boat sank off east China's coast, local police said on Saturday.

Nine hospital workers in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province hired a boat with three seamen to go angling on Friday. The vessel went down at about 5 p.m. in the East China Sea, according to the captain.

The search by local fishery and border defense authorities are still continuing despite bad weather.

It is the second vessel to sink in the East China Sea in two days.

Twelve seamen are missing after a tornado capsized their fishing boat, throwing 15 crew members into the water near Zhejiang's Zhoushan City on Wednesday.

Three seamen were rescued, and more than 30 rescue boats and a helicopter are searching for the rest.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2008)