Thirty-two crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, have gone missing after two vessels collided off China's east coast last night. <br/><br/>China's Ministry of Transport today said the collision, between a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, occurred at around 8 p.m. local time in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River's estuary. <br/><br/>The 32 missing crew members were all from the oil tanker, which capsized after the collision. According to the Ministry al 21 crew members on the bulk freighter – all Chinese nationals – have been rescued.<br/><br/>The 274-meter-long oil tanker SANCHI, owned by an Iranian shipping company and with 136,000 tonnes of condensate oil on board, was traveling from Iran to the Republic of Korea. <br/><br/>According to the Ministry, it caught fire after the collision and was still burning. <br/><br/>The ministry said oil spilled into the sea, but did not specify the area of contamination. The 225-meter-long bulk freighter CF CRYSTAL carried 64,000 tonnes of grain and was partly damaged. It is owned by a Chinese shipping company and was traveling from the United States to Guangdong, China.<br/><br/>Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels, including three specialized cleansing vessels, for search and rescue. <br/><br/>After coordination by the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the Republic of Korea dispatched a coast guard ship and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist in the search and rescue.

Thirty-two crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, have gone missing after two vessels collided off China's east coast last night. <br/><br/>China's Ministry of Transport today said the collision, between a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, occurred at around 8 p.m. local time in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River's estuary. All the 32 missing crew members were from the oil tanker. <br/><br/>According to the Ministry, all the 21 crew members on the bulk freighter – all Chinese nationals – have been rescued. Chinese maritime authorities have dispatched eight vessels for search and rescue. <br/><br/>After the coordination of China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the Republic of Korea has dispatched a coast guard ship and a fixed-wing aircraft to assist in the search and rescue.<br/>