BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) - An Iranian oil tanker has sunk after burning for more than a week following a collision on Jan. 6 in the East China Sea, Chinese state media said on Sunday, adding that large amounts of oil are burning in the surrounding waters. The stricken tanker, called the Sanchi, which had been adrift and on fire for more than a week following the accident with another vessel in the East China Sea, had “suddenly ignited” around noon (0400 GMT), China Central Television said. Two bodies recovered from oil tanker ablaze in East China Sea

“There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew,” Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team sent to Shanghai, told Iran’s state broadcaster. The Sanchi's crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. All 32 crew members on board the vessel that had been burning for a week were presumed dead, said an Iranian official on Sunday. The tanker was carrying a cargo of nearly 1 million barrels of condensate, a type of gassy, ultra-light oil that readily evaporates or burns off in a fire, reducing the chance of a major oil spill. The Sanchi was ferrying almost 1-million barrels of condensate — a highly flammable hydrocarbon liquid that is used in petrochemical production — when it collided with bulk carrier CF Crystal off the coast of Shanghai on January 6.
An oil tanker sinks in the East China Sea after burning for a week, causing a major spill.