Ship catches fire off China coast, 15 rescued

Beijing: Fifteen of the 16 crewmen on a Panama-registered freighter have been rescued after the vessel caught fire off the east China coast, marine authorities said.

One person was still stranded on the freighter "Hua Shan", Xinhua quoted officials with the maritime safety administration of Shandong province as saying.

The crew are all from South Korea. None of the 15 rescued was injured.

Around 8 pm on Sunday, the Shandong maritime rescue centre received a report that the engine room of the freighter was on fire in waters about 30 km off Chaolian Island, which is 31 km from Qingdao city.

The freighter was carrying 4,000 tonnes of coal.

The sailors boarded the lifeboat and were rescued by a passing ship.

IANS