YANTAI, Shandong, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Relatives of the 16 sailors missing after a ship collision, as well as government and company officials from the Republic of Korea (ROK), arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Yantai on Tuesday.

The delegation includes 21 relatives of the missing ROK sailors, officials from the ROK coast guard and the ROK Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and two representatives from the company which owns the ROK vessel "Golden Rose."

The "Golden Rose" sank off the coast near Yantai City of east China's Shandong Province, after it collided with the Saint Vincent-registered "Jinsheng", a container ship operated by Shandong Lufeng Shipping Company Ltd. The collision occurred around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The "Golden Rose", loaded with 5,900 tons of steel, was en route from Liaoning Province to ROK, while the "Jinsheng" was sailing from Yantai to Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

After the accident, the "Jinsheng" continued to steam toward port, arriving at Dayao Bay in Dalian at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday. It is not known why the "Jinsheng" failed to stop and help the stricken vessel.

The crew of the "Jinsheng" are being investigated by the Liaoning Maritime Affairs Bureau and ship operators are being questioned in Shandong.

The area where the sunken ship went down was identified on Monday afternoon, but there is still no trace of the 16 missing crew members, eight of whom are ROK nationals, seven from Myanmar and one from Indonesia.

The location is pinpointed at 38 degrees 14.45 minutes north latitude, 121 degrees 41.92 minutes east longitude, according to the Shandong Marine Affairs Bureau.

After the accident early Saturday, a flotilla of ships began searching for the missing seamen, including three search and rescue ships, two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft dispatched by China's Ministry of Communications.