On Day 3, fire rages on at stricken oil tanker in East China Sea

Chinese firefighting vessel spraying water on the burning oil tanker anchi. Pic/AFP

Strong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship.

The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 metres (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday. The Chinese government said late on Tuesday it had not found a "large-scale" oil leak, and the ultra light oil was burning off or evaporating so quickly it would leave little residue within five hours of a spill.

That reduces the chances of a crude-style oil slick. Still, condensate is highly volatile when exposed to air and water and concerns were growing the tanker could explode and sink while a flotilla of 13 search and rescue vessels comb a 900-square-nautical-mile area for the crew.

13
No. of search and rescue vessels looking for crew

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai, National and International news here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go