A dozen ships have been sent to the East China Sea waters off the coast of Quanzhou City of Fujian Province, east China, to help rescue three people who have been missing since their sand boat was submerged Saturday night.

The accident occurred around 9:00 pm Saturday, when the boat was ready to enter the Houzhu Port. The boat fore began to sink all of sudden, causing all six crew members to fall into the water. Three were saved by a cargo boat working in a nearby dock, but the others were lost, said saved crew members.

Of the three saved, one had his leg wounded and was sent to local hospital.

The Quanzhou maritime bureau quickly mobilized ships to the site of the accident to search for the missing crew members while issuing navigation warnings via radio programs to ask passing ships to give a helping hand in the search.

Around 2:30 pm Sunday, divers found the capsized boat at the sea bed but they did not find the three missing.

As of press time, rescuers still had made no progress in finding the missing crew and rescue work continues.

The sand boat, called "Decong No.2", was registered in Quanzhou.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2003)