Rescuers recovered two more bodies on Monday bringing the death toll to three from a ship collision off the coast of southeast China's Fujian Province, a local official said.

Rescuers are still searching for the two other missing crewmembers from sunken Chinese freighter "Quanfeng 369", which was loaded with slate and owned by Fengze Shipping Company Ltd. in Quanzhou, Fujian, said Li Zhiqiang, deputy director of the Quanzhou Maritime Affairs Bureau.

The "Quanfeng 369" sank early Sunday off Jinjiang, Quanzhou, after it collided with "Xing'an", a ship registered in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing.

Seven of the 12 sailors on the "Quanfeng 369" were rescued.

The cause of the collision was still being investigated, Li said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2007)