An Iranian oil tanker sunk on Sunday after burning for more than a week, leaving a slick of oil to on fire in surrounding waters.
The collision happened last Saturday - 114 miles off China's coast, near Shanghai - between an oil tanker called the Sanchi and a Chinese freighter.
Two bodies were recovered from the tanker yesterday. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchi's sailors, was found on Monday and brought to Shanghai for identification.
The Sanchi's crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.
All 21 crew members of the Chinese freighter were reported safe.
"There is no hope of finding survivors," Mahmoud Rastad, the chief of Iran's maritime agency, said.
The tanker, owned by National Iranian Tanker Co, was carrying almost one million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light crude oil, to South Korea.
It "suddenly ignited" at noon, according to China Central Television (CCTV), and sunk before 5 p.m.
China's State Oceanic Administration said that because the hull of the ship had detonated, a large amount of oil in surrounding waters was on fire, reports the official Xinhua news agency.
The administration said it would widen its search area and "quickly ascertain the spread and drift of overflowing oil" from the shipwreck.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad, Javad Zarif, that "as long as there is 1 percent of hope, China will continue to make 100 percent effort" to rescue and recover other members of the crew.
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This article has been adapted from its original source.
