Five seamen are confirmed dead and another three are still missing after a container ship sank off a port in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Saturday.

Rescuers found five bodies at around 9:35 a.m. on Sunday 12 nautical miles from the site where "Xinmingfa 17" went down, according to the Liaoning provincial maritime search and rescue center.

The ship with 146 containers and 14 people aboard sank off Yingkou City around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Six were saved by passing ships and rescue helicopters.

The vessle, 91.6 meters long and weighing 2,815 gross tonnes, belonged to Fuzhou Mingfa Shipping Co. Ltd. It was on its way from Yingkou to eastern Fujian province when it sank.

Two helicopters and 16 ships were still searching for the three missing. Rescuers were also cleaning up an oil slick four meters wide and one nautical mile long.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2008)