No hope of survivors on oil tanker burning off China's coast, agency chief warns
There is no hope of survival for missing sailors on a burning oil tanker off China, the chief of Iran's maritime agency has said.
Iranian state TV quoted Mahmoud Rastad as saying: "There is no hope of finding survivors among the (missing) 29 members of the crew."
The Sanchi, an Iranian oil tanker, has been on fire since colliding with a freighter last week in the East China Sea.
The cause of the collision remains unclear. Three bodies have been recovered from the sea, leaving 29 crew members still unaccounted for. The crew was all Iranian expect for two Bangladeshis.
The Chinese freighter CF Crystal, which collided with the Panamanian-registered tanker, had 21 crew members, all of whom were reported safe.
