One person died and nine were missing Tuesday night due to a collision between a Dutch containership and a small Chinese cargo vessel in the water area around the Yangtze River mouth in East China.

All its 11 crew members were thrown into the water as the Chinese cargo vessel were knocked to turn over and sink in the water area between the Changxing Island and Yangshan mountains.

Rescue efforts were made at once by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration in the area of 10 sea miles around the accident spot.

By Wednesday morning, one crewman had been rescued alive and one body had been found in the sunken vessel.

The chance for survival of the missing 9 might be slight as, according to the rescued, the accident occurred when all the crewmen were having their meal in the cabin, said a rescue official.

The search for the missing nine in a larger area and the investigation for the cause of the accident are still underway.

The sea-route is not much affected by the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2004)