The Chinese sailors injured when a cargo vessel sank in the Sea of Japan on Sunday are receiving treatment in hospital, and the cause of the accident is under investigation, the Chinese consulate in Russia's far eastern city of Khabarovsk told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The Chinese embassy in Russia and the consulate in Khabarovsk have asked the Russian side to provide the sailors with necessary aid and continue rescue efforts shortly after the incident, said Sun Lijie, consul-general of the Chinese consulate in Khabarovsk.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, three Chinese crew members were rescued and seven others were missing in the sea accident.

Eight sailors died after the Sierra Leone-flagged dry cargo vessel New Star sank in the Sea of Japan near the port of Nakhodkaon Sunday morning, Russian news agencies reported.

Half of the 16-member crew, which included Chinese and Indonesian nationals, were picked up from a raft by a nearby Russian border guard vessel, but they failed to save those aboard the second raft, news reports said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2009)