A third seaman was rescued after a fishing boat sank off east China's coast early on Thursday, but 12 others remained missing on Friday, local maritime affairs authorities said.

The crew member was pulled from the water by sailors from a passing vessel about 15 hours after a sudden tornado capsized the vessel just after Wednesday midnight on the East China Sea.

Two other crew members, captain Xu Bo and wheelman Ruan Mankang, had been rescued about 10 hours after the accident near Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province.

Xu said that the boat sank within just two or three minutes and all the 15 crew members fell into the water.

More than 30 rescue boats and a helicopter have been dispatched to search for the missing.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2008)