Eight crewmen are missing from a fishing ship that sank after colliding with a larger freighter in early hours Saturday, the Korea Coast Guard said.

   The 59-ton fishing ship crashed into the 2,116-ton vessel operated by Hanjin Transportation around 2:15 a.m. in the waters off Taean, South Chungcheong Province, causing eight out of the nine crewmen aboard the smaller ship to go missing.

   The two ships were sailing in different directions when they collided, local authorities investigating the incident said. No damage was reported to the Hanjin vessel.

   The Coast Guard dispatched 17 rescue cutters as well as a patrol plane and a helicopter to search for the missing crew members, it said.