Race to kill fire aboard oil tanker after crash

CHINA: Emergency teams from three countries were fighting to prevent a massive explosion on a burning oil tanker in the East China Sea yesterday, as one of the bodies of its 32 missing crew members was recovered.

Chinese, South Korean and United States ships and aircraft were involved in the effort to contain the leak of burning oil on the Iranian tanker Sanchi after it collided with a Chinese freighter on Sunday. The stricken vessel contained about 1 million barrels of highly volatile oil, making it potentially one of the worst spills in history.

The Chinese foreign ministry reported the recovery of one unidentified body from the tanker, although the combination of fire, toxic fumes and poor weather made the rescue very difficult. Other members of the crew, which consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, were still missing.

Four Chinese rescue ships were leading the emergency effort, along with three cleaning boats. South Korea sent a ship and a helicopter and a US naval aircraft was searching an area of 3600 square nautical miles for surviving crew members.

‘‘Conditions ... are not that favourable for search and rescue work,’’ said Lu Kang, the foreign ministry spokesman in Beijing. ‘‘We are also investigating how to prevent any secondary disaster.’’

All 21 Chinese crew members of the freighter, CF Crystal, which was carrying 64,000 tonnes of grain, were rescued. It was not clear what caused the collision.

Chinese state-run broadcasters showed oil visible in the water, although it was not known how much oil had spilled from the tanker. The South Korean government released photos showing the tanker surrounded by thick black smoke.