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22 Chinese seamen on Panama freighter missing off Taiwan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-16 21:00

QINGDAO: Shipping authorities in east China's Qingdao City confirmed Sunday 22 seamen from a local company working on a Panama-registered freighter had been missing in seawater east off Taiwan upon impact of typhoon Morakot.

Search for the seamen is underway, said Qingdao City Administration for Port and Shipping Business in a press release Sunday.

Related readings:  12 dead, 52 missing in Taiwan flooding: rescuers  10 still missing as typhoon Morakot nears  Typhoon Morakot leaves 6 dead, 3 missing in East China

The freighter, named "Changying", was caught by typhoon Morakot on August 8 when it travelled from Indonesia to Taiwan.  The seamen, employed by Datong International Shipping Management Company Ltd based in Qingdao, a port city in east China's Shandong province, could not be reached ever since then, according to the press release.

Datong International Shipping Management Company Ltd has reported the shipwreck to the Qingdao City Administration which immediately mobilized rescue operation.

Relatives of the seamen were also informed of the accident.

Qingdao City has set up a working group to coordinate all sectors to search for the missing seamen and deal with matters arising from the shipwreck.