Chinese Cargo Ship Sinks Near Hong Kong, Search Operations Begin For 11 Missing Crew Members

Rescue workers searched waters off Hong Kong for 11 crew members of a Chinese cargo ship that sank Monday after colliding with a container vessel.

The Zhong Xing 2, which was carrying cement from Herbei province, collided with a large container vessel nearly three miles off Po Toi Island near Hong Kong with 12 people on board. A 46-year-old crew member, reportedly from mainland China, was rescued by a fishing boat and had suffered minor injuries.

"Firemen and marine police have been dispatched to waters near Po Toi Island for search and rescue efforts," a police spokeswoman said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The larger ship that collided was registered in Marshall Islands, under the name MOL Motivator, and was sailing from Hong Kong to Shenzen. The ship was 302 meters (990 feet) long and was built in 2011.

The Chinese government has ordered a rescue mission to help the 11 missing passengers and said that it will send three helicopters and more than a dozen ships to the location.

"The rescue work is carried out and coordinated by the Guangdong rescue coordination center," a marine department spokeswoman said, according to Agence France-Presse.

According to data from the city's marine department, as quoted by the Journal, nearly 171 people were injured or killed in shipping accidents in or near Hong Kong waters last year, down from 232 injured or killed in 2012.