Twelve fishermen have been saved after two fishing boats collided Tuesday morning in Qiongzhou Straits off south China's Hainan Province, rescuers confirmed Wednesday.

The boat, coded "Zhanjiang 00131", was hit by another local fishing boat at around 10:30?AM Tuesday and was seriously damaged. The fishermen phoned their families to seek rescue as they kept scooping out seawater that kept pouring into the cabin.

Two rescue boats and a helicopter were sent to the site by midday, after the Nanhai Salvage Bureau of the Ministry of Communications was informed of the accident.

Six of the fishermen were saved at 1:35 PM Tuesday and the other six got rescued at 2:42 PM, said sources with the salvage bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2006)