BEIJING, Aug 8, 2009 (AFP) - Up to 100 crew members on more than a dozen boats from China, Vietnam and Cambodia were missing off the south of China Saturday in rough seas caused by tropical storm Goni, state press said.
Rescue vessels and helicopters have been dispatched off Hainan island with over 20 vessels in trouble, local maritime officials told Xinhua news agency.
China Central Television said that at least one fishing boat has sunk in the storm.
The tropical storm has worsened as Typhoon Morakot to the east lashed Taiwan and approached China's southeastern coast, the report said.
One person was killed and four were missing in Taiwan as Typhoon Morakot battered the island with powerful winds and downpours, rescuers said Saturday.
The typhoon is expected to make landfall in China later Saturday.
