A total of 27 people are listed as missing after four fishing boats and an engineering vessel capsized early on Wednesday in Bohai Bay in northern China, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Helicopters have been sent to the scene some 30 nautical miles off the coast of the city of Dongying in Shandong Province.

Six people have been rescued and a search for the missing crewmembers is underway.

Weather conditions in the area are unknown, but storms and heavy rain have been reported along the Shandong coast.
sections: Accidents