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August 6^th, a Chinese fishing vessel sank 50 kilometers off the Coast of Rapa Island in French Polynesia. The accident has caused at least four Chinese dead and four other sailors missing.

According to the officials from French High Commission, the "Zun Yang 26" fishing vessel issued a distress call to report the ship was leaking in the evening on August 5^th. In the morning on August 6^th, the French High Commission dispatched a rescue aircraft to the site of the accident.

Rescuers said when they arrived, sailors equipped with survival gear were found holding on to the fishing vessel as it lay on its side sinking. There were 14 crew members on board. When the rescue aircraft reached there, nine of the crew members had leaped into the sea. Later, a sailor among the nine members was rescued. But four of them were confirmed dead, and the other four sailors are still missing.

For the five crew members who didn't leap into the sea, the helicopter dropped floats for these sailors to grab from the vessel. The five sailors were lifted off the stricken vessel by a helicopter and taken to Rapa. So far, there is still a surveillance helicopter patrolling the area to search for the four missing sailors.

Rapa is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo. Its area is 40 square kilometers with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 meters.