Rescue teams are searching for 11 crew members onboard a cargo ship that went missing after their vessel collided with another ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
The cargo ship collided with a container vessel near Po Toi Island off the coast of southern Hong Kong on Monday morning, the BBC reported. Officials say the cargo ship most likely sank following the collision, with one of the ship's 12 crew members being rescued. Chinese officials, including the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre and rescue teams from Hong Kong, are searching for the remaining crew.
The cargo ship Zhong Xing 2 "is suspected to have sunk after the collision, and it is reported there are 12 crew onboard," a Hong Kong maritime department spokeswoman told The Guardian. "One of them was picked up by a fishing vessel navigating close by."
The crew member that was rescued received medical treatment at a hospital for minor injuries, AFP news agency reported. Other ships were warned to stay away from the area due to the possibility of a sunken ship.
At least three helicopters and over 12 ships were deployed to aid in the search, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, according to the BBC.
The 79,400-ton container vessel MOL Motivator, registered in the Marshall Islands, was on its way to Yantian port in southern China from Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is the fourth-largest container port in the world. Accidents in the port are rare, the BBC reported.
One of the worst maritime disasters to hit the area was in October 2012 when 39 people died after a fast-moving ferry collided with a pleasure boat near Lamma Island, the BBC reported. Nearly 85 people were wounded after another high-speed ferry near Hei Ling Chau Island struck an unidentified object last year.
