Rescuers are searching for the 19 people missing from Saturday's ship collision in the East China Sea, but they have little chance to survive due to cold weather, a Zhejiang Maritime Affairs Bureau official said Sunday night.

A Liberian ship collided with a local fishing boat at about 11:40 p.m. on Saturday in the sea off the eastern Zhejiang Province on its way from Taiwan Province to the Republic of Korea.

The fishing boat, with 20 people on board, capsized and only one was rescued.

"It is almost impossible for people to survive more than 12 hours in such cold water," said an official with the bureau who declined to give his name.

"Most of the missing people are local fishermen and the others are from the neighboring provinces," said the official.

The provincial search and rescue center sent more than ten searching boats to the scene immediately and a helicopter arrived to assist in the operation around 6:45 a.m. on Sunday.

More than 20 fishing boats also participated in the rescue work.

Investigation into the cause of the collision is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency December 17, 2007)