The tragedy occurred when a Maltese tanker was taking on oil from a Singaporean vessel off Dapeng Bay near the city of Shenzhen, a local maritime administrative bureau source said Monday.

Three people were also injured in the incident. They were taken to a hospital in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The bureau was informed of the accident on Sunday morning after the fires had been put out. A small amount of oil leaked into the bay.

The 30,000-ton Maltese "Byzantio" began taking on oil from the "Asian Progress II" on Friday afternoon. The Singaporean tanker had 50,000 tons of Kuwaiti crude oil on board.

Almost 30,000 tons of oil was scheduled to be transferred between the two vessels.

The "Byzantio" was seriously damaged but the "Asian Progress II" was able to leave the area, sources with the Shenzhen Maritime Affairs Bureau said.

Maritime officials claim the oil transfer was illegal as it had not been approved by the bureau.

A lawyer for the owner of the Maltese ship said they were willing to cooperate in addressing the matter, according to the bureau.

Elsewhere, in Changle of East China's Fujian Province, a fishing ship lost radio contact on Saturday.

It was carrying 10 crew members, the provincial sea and fishery bureau revealed yesterday.

The ship, from Fushan Village in Changle, was believed to have been heading out to sea to purchase seafood, sources said.

The 125-ton boat, which is 33 meters long, is said to be equipped with life vests and other equipment, including hand-held radios.

More than 30 fishing boats rushed to the last known location of the boat to launch a rescue bid.

The reason for the disappearance is not known, said a bureau official who only gave his name as Gao.

Gao said the boat might have sunk.

(China Daily April 1, 2003)