Twelve people were rescued but five remained missing after a cargo ship sank in the East China Sea waters Sunday, local navigation authority said Tuesday.

The ship loaded with more than 5,500 tons of mineral ore was enroute from the northern Qingdao Port to Jiangsu Province, east China when it encountered a storm halfway about 30 sea miles northeast of the estuary of the Yangtze River near Shanghai, according to the port and navigation department of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, where the ship is registered.

Gale-force winds and high waves kept pummeling the ship, and flooded its cabins, according to initial investigation.

All the 17 crew member were thrown into the sea, but 12 were lifted to the land by a helicopter and a rescue ship.

Rescuers are still going all out to search for the five missing.

(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2005)