Local maritime authorities said Tuesday that there was little hope for the survival of 16 people who have been missing since a fishing boat sank last Thursday in the sea off Shanghai.

Rescuers using more than 20 vessels and a helicopter searched the area for four days but found no signs of life, the authorities said.

The maritime search and rescue center of neighboring Zhejiang Province received an emergency call from the four survivors of the incident Friday afternoon, more than 20 hours after the boat sank. They were rescued by a passing fishing boat.

The sunken vessel, which carried 11 fishermen and nine passengers, went down on its way back from Shanghai to Zhejiang. It is unknown whether the ship, which belongs to Zhejiang's Wenling Fishing Company, was overloaded or why it sank.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2007)