RESCUERS are searching for 15 people missing in the Bohai Sea near Liaoning Province after a Shanghai cargo ship sank in gale winds and large waves, the Labor Daily reported today.

The body of a victim wearing a life buoy was found in the sea around 5pm yesterday.

The ship sank on Sunday morning 20 kilometer away from Lushun port in Liaoning. Shenhai No.1 sent out signals for help at 8:08am but lost contact with rescuers at around 9:30am.

The ship, carrying 4,800 tons of steel on its way back to Shanghai, was probably overturned in gales and waves up to four meters high, according to the local maritime search and rescue center.

"The temperature in the sea is quite low. The hope for the missing people to survive is slim," the newspaper quoted a worker on duty with the local rescue center as saying.

The ship is owned by the Shanghai Yinghai Shipping Company Ltd. The company said it can't confirm if there are any Shanghai residents on board, the newspaper said.

It is still unknown whether the vessel was overloaded, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate accident, two crew members from a North Korean ship are still missing after the ship capsized on Sunday off the coast of east China's Shandong Province, Xinhua reported. A total of 21 crew members have been rescued, and search operations are continuing.