Beijing: A number of Chinese fishermen are missing after a fishing trawler sank in waters near a group of islands disputed with Japan in the East China Sea. The incident happened on Friday morning near the islands which China calls the Diaoyus and Japan the Senkakus, the official Xinhua news agency said.

“The cause of the accident is yet to be known. Two Chinese naval rescue vessels are heading to the scene,” it said in a brief dispatch.