Eleven crewmembers are missing after a Chinese cargo ship sank in the waters just southeast of Hong Kong.  It was hauling cement when it collided with a much larger container ship registered in the Marshall Islands, and sank on the spot.

Only one crewmember was rescued, and he suffered only minor injuries.  The larger container ship, with 24 people on board, suffered only minor damage.  Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities immediately sent out ships, a helicopter, and a fixed wing plane to search for the missing crewmembers.

A powerful thunderstorm had moved though the Hong Kong region at about the time of the collision.  Alan Loynd, the chairman of the International Tugmasters Association, a marine safety and advocacy group that represents the ship towing industry, says that such a storm is capable of interfering with the marine radar systems that should have warned the larger vessel about the presence of the ill-fated Zhong Xing 2.  It has not been confirmed that either variable contributed to the sinking of the Chinese ship.