Seven bodies have been found in a cargo ship which capsized on Tuesday in the Yellow Sea near Changhai County of Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Twelve people were missing, local government said yesterday evening.

The cargo ship, Liaopuyun-777, suddenly overturned when being unloaded at a berth of Haiyang Island at around 7 PM on Tuesday.

All the 46 people fell overboard, and 27 of them were rescued, Xinhua reported.

The ferry service between Pikou Port and Haiyang Island Port was suspended for two days due to mechanical problems, prompting some passengers to take the cargo ship heading for the island, according to workers at the Pikou Port, where the ship started sailing.

The cargo ship was being loaded with cargo, including bricks and other items weighing at least 100 tons.

As the ship capsized, the crewmen fell overboard.

Search-and-rescue efforts soon got under way after the rescue centre received the distress signal around 12 minutes after the incident.

Divers were sent to search for the crewmen in the water, and quickly rescued some.

But the detailed reasons behind the ship's capsizing was not revealed.

The steel ship 30.2 metres long, and 6.5 metres wide is owned by a local enterprise, Shunda Marine Company, according to the preliminary investigation by marine institutions.

(China Daily November 10, 2005)