At least 12 missing after 2 boat collisions off China

HONG KONG — At least 12 people were missing after two collisions between ships and fishing boats off the southeast coast of China on Tuesday.

In Zhejiang province, local authorities said 14 people aboard a fishing boat fell into the water after their boat was hit by a ship and sank at about 1 a.m. Two were rescued and ships in the area were called in to help search for the others.

To the south, a search was underway for crew members of a fishing boat that collided with an oil tanker in waters off Hong Kong.

Hong Kong police said the fishing boat sank after the collision Tuesday morning. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were on board the fishing boat and how many were missing.

Police said all 13 crew members on the Chinese-registered oil tanker were safe.

The collision happened southeast of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. In January, at least one person died in a fire on a Vietnam-registered oil tanker as it prepared to refuel off the same island. /kga