YANTAI, Shandong Province, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese divers Monday evening recovered a body of the sixteen missing sailors of an ROK ship that sank off the east China coast a week ago after colliding with a container ship.

    Divers from the Ministry of Communications' salvage arm came into the ship's cabin and found a body at 6:30 p.m. in their ninth attempt of the day, said a source with the salvage headquarters.

    They have also found a third life raft tied to the left side of the ship.

    Searchers had earlier found two life rafts, four life rings, a wooden oar, traces of fuel oil and other debris from the sunken ship--"Golden Rose."

    The "Golden Rose" -- loaded with 5,900 tons of steel -- reportedly sank at around 3:00 a.m. last Saturday off the coast near Yantai in heavy fog after colliding with the "Jinsheng", a Chinese container ship operated by Shandong Lufeng Shipping Company Ltd.

    Among the 16 sailors from the "Golden Rose," eight are ROK nationals, seven from Myanmar and one from Indonesia.

    More than 300 Chinese ships and three aircraft, as well as 30 experienced divers and a diving vessel, have been taking part in the search for the missing sailors, and China has invited the ROK to send rescue boats and coast guard vessels.