Beijing, Jan 13 (AFP) Chinese rescuers today recoveredtwo bodies and the "black box" from a stricken Iranian oiltanker which has been ablaze for the past week off the eastcoast of China, the transport ministry said.
The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oilfrom Iran, has been in flames since colliding with the CFCrystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, 160 nauticalmiles east of Shanghai last Saturday.
It had a crew of 32 -- 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.
With the latest find a total of three bodies have now beenrecovered. The remaining sailors are still missing.
"At 0837 (local time), four rescuers equipped with masksand bottles of oxygen were placed at the deck at the back ofthe Sanchi with the help of a crane," the Chinese transportministry said in a statement.
"They discovered the bodies of two sailors in alifeboat."A video released by the ministry shows rescuers wearingwhite helmets and orange jumpsuits walking on the tanker,whose grey metallic structure appears to have been devastatedby fire.
"After recovering the black box, the rescuers tried toreach the communal areas (....) But the temperature reached 89degrees Celsius (192 degrees Fahrenheit) and they could notenter," the ministry said.
A total of 13 vessels -- 10 Chinese, two Japanese and oneSouth Korean -- are taking part in the rescue operation, oilrecovery and firefighting.
An Iranian sailors' group has criticised China's rescueefforts, but the Chinese transport ministry said Thursday that"terrible" weather conditions and toxic gases from the burningoil were hindering operations.
"The Iranian search team will soon reach the tanker,"Hadi Haghshenas, deputy director of Iran's Ports and MaritimeOrganisation, told the Ilna news agency today.
A day earlier, he said 12 members of the elite team werestill waiting in Shanghai for conditions to allow them to goto the ship.
Operated by Iran's National Iranian Tanker Company, thePanamanian-flagged ship was transporting light crudecondensate to South Korea.
The 21 Chinese crew members of the Crystal, which did notburst into flames, were all rescued. (AFP)CPS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.