Ten fishermen went missing after their boat sank off China's east coast, sources with the Zhejiang Provincial Ocean and Fisheries Bureau said on Monday.

The sources said they received a report at 7:00 a.m. Sunday that a boat registered in Zhejiang and carrying 10 people went missing and could not be reached by radio.

The boat, whose last known position was 33 degrees north and 122 degrees east, set out with seven other boats to catch crabs and other seafood.

Officials estimated the boat sank between 7:00 p.m. Saturday and 7:00 a.m. Sunday. They said the sea was calm. They believe that the boat might have been hit by a bigger vessel.

The Zhejiang fishery bureau called on 11 boats in adjacent waters to search for the missing fishermen. Maritime authorities in neighboring Shanghai and Jiangsu are assisting the search.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)