Two ships collided in foggy conditions off Japan's Pacific coast on Friday, sinking one ship and leaving nine of its Chinese crew members missing, Japan's coast guard said.

One person was hospitalized with serious injuries, reports said.

The Japan Coast Guard dispatched patrol boats and aircraft to scour waters about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Cape Inubosaki in Chiba prefecture, where a 499-ton Japanese cargo freighter, Kaishin Maru, and the 3,947-ton Malta-registered Wei Hang 9 collided, said a coast guard official who declined to be identified.

He said the Wei Hang 9 sank and nine of its 21 Chinese crew members were missing. A thick fog was hampering the search, he said.

The remaining 12 Chinese nationals were rescued uninjured, as were the four Japanese sailors aboard the other ship, the official said.

Media reports said one of the rescued Chinese sailors suffered serious injuries.

The collision, which occurred at around 5:10 AM, was the second in Japanese waters in a week.

Last Friday, six Japanese sailors died after two tankers rammed each other off Japan's central coast in foggy conditions. One of the ships transporting benzene caught fire in the collision.

(Chinadaily.com via agencies July 22, 2005)