BEIJING -- Search teams in western China called off the hunt for the final missing member of an ill-fated Russian canoe expedition, saying there was no sign of him, state media said Thursday.

Russian and Chinese rescuers met Wednesday in the city of Hotan in China's Central Asian frontier province of Xinjiang and agreed to call off the 16-day search, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

"They said they had found no sign of a survivor in the area," Xinhua said. The missing man has been identified as Dmitry Tishchenko.

Two of the expedition's six members, Alexander Zverev and Andrei Pautov, were found alive last week. Rescuers earlier found the bodies of three others who were apparently killed in river accidents.

Difficult terrain and dust storms hampered the search.

The six Russians set out Aug. 21 for a 12-day trip down the Yurungkax river, which cuts through the rugged Kunlun Mountains before running dry in the Taklamakan Desert. They were reported missing after they failed to appear at a Sept. 2 rendezvous.

Elevations of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) and rocky, fast-flowing rapids make canoeing on the river dangerous.