Photo taken on Dec. 1, 2021 shows a fishing boat sailing on an aquaculture farming area in Lianjiang County, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

Five people onboard a Chinese fishing boat remain unaccounted for after the vessel collided with a Panama-flagged cargo boat on the night of Tuesday, according to an article published via the WeChat account of China's Zhejiang Maritime Administration Wednesday. 

The fishing boat, which is registered in Wenzhou of East China's Zhejiang Province, sank in the waters belonging to the Wenzhou offshore exclusive economic zone after it collided into the Panamanian vessel 'Ocean LOONG,' the article noted. 

Following the accident, local maritime search and rescue center immediately initiated a rescue emergency plan and dispatched resources including watercraft and planes to the region where the accident occurred to search for the missing individuals.

Navigation warnings were also deployed, while nearby ships were assigned to participate in the search effort, according to the article.

As of 8:00 am on Wednesday, the whereabouts of the five people are still unknown, and search efforts are ongoing.

Global Times