The 80-meter-long Ukrainian vessel, carrying 25 people, sank shortly after the collision and 18 people were believed to be trapped in its cabin.

Rescuers have saved seven people, including one Chinese and six Ukrainians from a tugboat involved in the collision, previous reports said.

The trapped sailors have had no chances to survive after being trapped amid strong currents for more than 80 hours, Zhou said.

People can survive for no more than 12 hours in such currents, the report said.

Earlier, Hong Kong officials said the sailors could have found a pocket of air that might offer hope of survival.

Guangdong government has decided to dispatch the Huatianlong Crane, the most powerful crane in Asia that salvaged the 800-year-old Nanhai No. 1 on December 22, to help the salvage work, the report added.

The crane will move the vessel from its current depth of 35 meters to shallower waters to ease salvage efforts.

A Ukrainian rescue team led by Shevchenko Vasyl Vasylyovych, deputy director of the country's transportation department, arrived in Hong Kong last night.

(Shanghai Daily March 26, 2008)