A collision at sea in the early hours of Wednesday morning has killed two and left nine still missing.

An oil vessel, Minghui 8, collided with a cargo ship, Minhai 102, at around 2 AM. They were about 7.5 nautical miles east of Nan'ao Island, Shantou, in the southern province of Guangdong.

Minghui 8 was heading from east China's Fujian Province to Shantou at the time. The 53-meter vessel contained 975 tons of diesel and sank about 10 minutes after the impact with all 13 crewmembers still on board.

The 63-meter Minhai 102, which was not loaded, escaped serious damage, and its crew managed to save one sailor from the sinking vessel.

A helicopter from Xiamen, Fujian recovered two bodies and airlifted one injured survivor to hospital. Efforts to find the remaining sailors are continuing.

Work to clean up the oil has also begun, but the size of the affected area is still unknown, a spokesperson for the Shantou Maritime Safety Administration told China Daily yesterday.

At least six ships have been involved in the search, rescue and clean up so far. Ships near the site have also been called to help.

A modified ship is expected to arrive from Shanghai today to help pump oil out of the sunken vessel.

The spill is expected to have an impact on fishing in the area.

On December 7 last year, two foreign containerships collided near the mouth of the Pearl River, causing a massive oil spill.

(China Daily January 28, 2005)