Chinese salvagers rescued a Panama flag cargo vessel that was on the verge of capsizing on Friday night in seawaters off the mouth of the Yangtze River, saving all seven sailors on board.

The ship, carrying 500 tons of stainless steel, was en route from Taicang Port in east China's Jiangsu Province to Pohanghang Port in the Republic of Korea when it lurched and water began to pour into the cabin at 9:00 PM.

The East China Sea Salvage Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Communications sent four rescue ships to the site after receiving an SOS call.

By 1:55 AM on Saturday, all seven sailors had been rescued and taken on board a patrol ship from the Shanghai Maritime Bureau.

The bureau said it was windy at sea as tropical storm Wukong, which has been downgraded from a typhoon, is approaching.

The central meteorological station said Wukong was located at Kyushu, the southernmost island of the major islands of Japan, at 8:00 AM on Saturday, packing winds at 18 meters per second.

It said the center of the tropical storm is moving northwestward at 10 to 15 km per hour and will bring high winds to the Yellow Sea and East China Sea on Saturday and Sunday and heavy rain to northeast China.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2006)