An oil tanker and a fishing boat collided at high sea, 16 km from the Angolan coast at Namibe, south Angola, leaving three sailors missing, an official of the Namibe Port Administration said on Monday.

Antonio Germano, director of the Namibe Port Administration, told reporters that the accident occurred at 3 a.m. (0200 GMT)) Thursday, leaving three Chinese sailors from the fishing boat missing.

The accident occurred when the fishing boat owned by a South Korean fishing company collided with the "Iceia" vessel, a Greek oil tanker registered in Panama which was making the regular Luanda-Cape Town (South Africa) route, he added.

The official affirmed that an investigation team was set up by the Sea Ports Administration of Angola to assess the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2008)