Two Ships Sink in China's Extreme Weather

Update - 3:45 p.m.: The latest reports claim that 10 bodies have now been recovered, and 16 mariners are still missing. 7 from one ship, and three from the first sinking on Sunday. Rescue operations are ongoing.

Update - 8 a.m.: A total of three bodies have now been recovered, leaving another 23 still missing from the two separate ship incidents. All the bodies appear to be from Sunday’s sinking; 9 more crewmen are still missing from the XINGLONGZHOU65.

Both vessels were registered in China.

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Rescuers are searching for 25 missing crewmen after two cargo ships sank off China’s east coast in separate incidents, resulting in at least one confirmed death so far.

A ship with 14 crewmembers sank early Monday morning because of massive waves and inclement weather conditions, according to the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration. It had set sail from southeastern Zhejiang province and sank en route to northeastern Liaoning province. It went down close to Weihai City in the Shandong province.

A few hours earlier on Sunday evening, another cargo ship with 12 crewmembers aboard suffered engine failure on the stormy seas and sank off the coast of Yantai City in Shandong. The vessel has been identified by local media outlets as the XINGLONGZHOU65. The ship was carrying stone and lost contact with maritime authorities roughly six minutes after making an emergency call for help.

One body from Sunday’s incident had been found. Rescue planes and vessels are currently at, or heading to, both scenes.