12 unaccounted for after Chinese fishing vessel collides with tanker

A total of 12 people were missing after a fishing vessel from the Chinese mainland collided with a tanker of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region early Thursday in international waters some 400 km north of the Oki Islands in western Japan, according to the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka.

Four of the 16 crew members on board the fishing vessel have been rescued, while 12 others were still missing, said the consulate-general.

The Japan Coast Guard has set up a response unit and sent three patrol vessels to the area where the accident happened.

The consulate-general immediately set up an emergency response unit headed by the consul general upon receiving the report about the accident.

It has sent a working group to the scene to help with the rescue and is keeping contact with the Japan Coast Guard.