Tokyo – Twelve people were missing on Thursday after a Chinese fishing vessel capsized after colliding with a Hong Kong-registered tanker off Japan, the Japanese coastguard said.
Rescuers were searching for 12 of the 16 crew members aboard the 290-ton boat after Chinese authorities called for help, the Kyodo News agency reported.
The other four crew members were rescued by the Chinese coast guard.
The Chinese boat collided with the 63,294-ton tanker Blight Oil Lucky on Thursday morning, 400 kilometres north of Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan also known as the East Sea, officials said.
Japan launched three patrol boats for the operation.
The Chinese vessel was identified as the 290 tonne “Lurong Yuanyu 378.”