Two bodies found on stricken tanker off China

Two bodies found on stricken tanker off China

A firefighting boat works to put on a blaze on the oil tanker Sanchi in the East China Sea on Wednesday. (AP Photo)
A firefighting boat works to put on a blaze on the oil tanker Sanchi in the East China Sea on Wednesday. (AP Photo)

SHANGHAI: A Chinese salvage team recovered two bodies on Saturday from a stricken Iranian oil tanker, that was still blazing a week after it caught fire and was left adrift following a collision in the East China Sea, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The four members of the salvage team wore respirators to board the Sanchi, where they found the two bodies on the deck.

They tried to get to the living quarters but were driven back by temperatures on the burning ship of around 89 Celsius, Xinhua said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif by telephone that "as long as there is one percent of hope, China will continue to make 100-percent effort" in the rescue effort, according to a report on the ministry website.

The body of one sailor believed to be from the ship was recovered on Monday and sent to Shanghai for identification. The rest of the crew, which included 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, remains missing.

The salvage team recovered the voyage data recorder, or "black box" from the bridge, before leaving the vessel less than half an hour after boarding because the wind had shifted and "thick toxic smoke" had complicated the operation, Xinhua said.

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