A Panama-registered freighter collided with a local ferryboat in the sea waters near Zhanjiang City of Guangdong Province Thursday evening. In the incident seven people were injured and two missing.

By Friday morning, the three severely injured people were out of danger and the two others lightly hurt were already out of hospital.

Witnesses said that the freighter bumped into the ferryboat without sounding an alarm at about 8:00 Thursday evening, possibly due to the low visibility in the area, which was enveloped by heavy rain at the time.

The ferryboat started to sway violently, throwing two people on a motorbike into the sea. However, the freighter continued to crash into the rear part of the ferry, causing the protection wall on the ferry to collapse, injuring three more people.

The chaotic situation at the time caused the two ships to collide with each other an additional couple of times.

The freighter escaped from the scene after the incident.

(xinhua 06/01/2001 )