The fire broke out in the sea, and the Chinese tanker 'Sanchi', an accidental oil tanker. The Chinese media said this.
Iranian officials say 32 people in the ship are dead now. Among them, 30 Iranian and 2 Bangladeshi nationals.
On January 6, the Panamanian flag carrier Sanchi carried the oil carrying oil from Iran to South Korea. But the fire broke out in Sanchi clash with Hong Kong's Cf Christian ships, 269 kilometers away from the Shanghai coast of East China Sea.
The tanker contained 1,36,000 tons of oil. It was sunk after burning for more than 1 week. China's Central TV reported that at about noon in Sanchi, 'suddenly the fire level increased' and at one point it was submerged.
It was possible to recover three bodies after the rescue operation was carried out till it was submerged. On Saturday, rescuers recovered two bodies from a lifeboat in the Sinchir deck. Earlier, a crew of a sailor was found floating in the sea near the burning vessel.
But now it is not expected to survive 29 sailors missing as it sinks, the Iranian commando unit spokesman said.
A total of 13 ships including one in South Korea and two in Japan and one commando unit of Iran participated in the rescue.
Rescuers recovered the tanker's blueprint, but forced to return to the toxic to smoke due to heavy smoke and fire.
The temperature at the blazing ship was 89 degrees Celsius (192 degrees Fahrenheit).
It is not known what caused the accident. But the Black Box was recovered due to the actual cause of the accident.