Divers recovered another body Friday afternoon from an overturned Ukrainian tugboat in the waters off Hong Kong's outlying Lantau Island, bringing the confirmed death toll in the shipwreck to three.

Another 15 crew members of the Ukrainian ship, which collided with a Chinese mainland registered cargo ship on March 22, were still missing.

"The body was located inside a cabin on the main deck of the shipwreck about 2:20 p.m. It was later handed over to police for investigation," the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said in a statement.

Frogmen have so far made 51 dives -- including eight on Friday -- to search the shipwreck, which now lies about 37 meters underwater, said the statement.

The 2,723-ton Naftogaz 67, flying Ukrainian flag, was carrying 24 Ukrainian crewmen and a Chinese sailor when it collided with Chinese freighter Yao Hai amid foggy weather.

Six Ukrainians and the Chinese sailor were rescued within half an hour. Divers also recovered three bodies in diving efforts to search the shipwreck. The rest 15 of the sailors were believed to be trapped inside the cabin of the shipwreck.

Authorities in Hong Kong carried out massive rescue operations and divers went inside the cabin of the wreck in spite of currents and poor visibility underwater.

Lo Chun-hung, director of fire services, said the ongoing search for the missing Ukrainian sailors was becoming more risky. A second diver got caught up in the debris inside the wreck on Thursday, the second such incident in as many days.

The Salvage Bureau of nearby Guangzhou was preparing for sending a 4,000-ton ship to help move the sunken tugboat to shallower waters to make it easier to dive. An official said Friday there could be difficulties because experts found the waters complicated.

Authorities in Hong Kong were still investigating the cause of accident.

Ukrainian Ambassador to China Sergei Kamyshev and a delegation led by Ukrainian Vice Minister of Transport and Communication Shevchenko Vasylyovych were now in Hong Kong.

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2008)