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A Korean cargo vessel with 16 crew including seven Koreans sank off the coast of China after colliding with a Chinese ship on Saturday. All hands were lost.
Chinese maritime authorities mobilized a flotilla of ships and helicopters to search for survivors, but none were found.
According to Korean maritime police on Sunday, the "Golden Rose," a 3,800-ton cargo vessel from Jeju Island, collided with a 4,800-ton Chinese container ship 38 miles southeast of Dalian at 4:05 a.m. Saturday.
Seven Korean crewmen plus eight Burmese and one Indonesian were on board the "Golden Rose" and are believed dead.
The Chinese vessel only reported the accident to Chinese authorities after entering Dalian port by itself around 11 a.m., seven hours after the collision.
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Family members of missing crewmembers of the Korean freight ship Golden Rose, which sank off the east coast of China, weep at the office of the shipping company in Busan on Sunday.
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Criticism is mounting that the belated accident report may have cost lives by delaying rescue efforts.
"It is believed that the 'Golden Rose,' departing from Dalian port in China and heading to Dangjin in South Chungcheong Province with a load of steel, collided with the Chinese vessel because of poor visibility in heavy fog," Korean maritime police said.
Korean maritime police have urged their Chinese counterparts for a thorough investigation of the delayed accident report and into the exact reasons for the collision.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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