Three fishermen were confirmed dead and two others missing after their fishing boat sank in the sea waters closed to Zhuhai, a coastal city of south China's Guangdong Province, early Sunday morning, according to local salvage authorities.

Four fishermen have been rescued.

An official with the Nanhai (South China Sea) Salvage Bureau under the Ministry of Communications said they received a call from Guangdong Provincial Rescue Information Center at 3:38 a.m. Sunday, saying a fishing boat was sinking in the sea area about 23 nautical miles southeast to the Gaolan Port of Zhuhai City and asking for help.

The Nanhai Salvage Bureau immediately sent a large-sized ship to the accident site. As of 8:00 AM, rescuers found two fishermen, one of whom was dead.

The Guangdong Provincial Rescue Center also contacted Hong Kong government, which dispatched two helicopters and one fixed wing aircraft to join the rescue operation at 6:42 AM. Later four fishermen were found, one of whom was dead.

Rescuers on a coastguard vessel recovered the body of one more fisherman around the same time.

The survivors said that there were nine fishermen aboard the ill-fated ZHANJING-00029 fishing boat. "Sea water surged into the boat due to strong wind and high waves, leading to the sinkage of the boat," they said.

Search for the two missing fishermen was still underway.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2007)