Eight crew members of a tanker were missing after it collided with a bulk carrier in the Straits of Malacca on Wednesday.
Search and rescue operations to find the eight crew members of the Liberia-registered tanker, which was halted early Wednesday morning due to rough sea conditions, have resumed, an official said in Port Dickson. The bulk carrier is registered in Great Britain.
The rescue teams found 17 of the 25 crew thrown into the sea when the tanker caught fire after the collision.
Of the 25, he said 23 were Chinese nationals and two were Taiwanese.
"We could not approach the tanker due to the intense heat. In fact we could feel the heat five km away from the burning ship," an official said adding that marine police and Marine Department officers had cordoned off the area to ensure safety for other passing vessels.
The official said preliminary investigation showed that both vessels were heading south when the incident occurred in international waters off Port Dickson.
"It is learnt that the tanker was on its way from the Middle East to Korea transporting crude oil," he said, adding that rescuers found the captain of the tanker floating at sea soaked in crude oil.