At least 15 people were killed and one was missing after two ships collided, sinking one at the estuary of the Yangtze River, the Shanghai Maritime authority said on Wednesday.

The cargo ship, with 17 crewmembers on board, sank after crashing into another cargo ship at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the No. 3 anchorage. Only one member of the crew was rescued.

The ship that sunk, belonging to the China Ocean Aviation Group Inc., has been hoisted out of the water.

The other ship, belonging to the Liaoning-based Chengyu Shipping Co. Ltd., was carrying 6,000 tons of diesel oil and 16 crewmembers when the accident occurred.

There were no reports of either an oil leak and crew injuries on this ship so far.

Local authorities have started an investigation into the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)