Storm hinders searching for persons on board Sanchi

shanghai - The search for the disappeared passengers of the oil tanker Sanchi is hampered by the bad weather in the East China Sea. 31 sailors are still missing.

The Sanchi set fire on Saturday after a collision with a Hong Kong cargo ship 300 kilometers off the coast of Shanghai. One dead sailor has since been found.

Of the 32 crew members, 30 are from Iran, the other two are from Bangladesh, including the dead.

The Sanchi sails under Panamanian flag. A fire broke out after the collision and a part of the cargo flowed into the sea. On board the tanker was 163,000 tons of condensate, an easily flammable form of petroleum. The load still burned Tuesday.

Apart from China, South Korea, the US and Japan are participating in the search for survivors with ships. Nothing is known yet about the cause of the collision. The crew of the cargo ship remained unharmed and were taken off board with a helicopter.