HEFEI - Collisions involving three vessels in the section of the Yangtze River in East China's Wuhu city, Anhui province, early Friday morning, left seven people missing.

Twenty crew members on board the three vessels fell into the water after the collisions on Baimao Waterway. Thirteen of them have been rescued, according to the Yangtze River Maritime Department.

The vessels included a tug boat carrying iron ore from Central China's Henan province, and cargo ships carrying steel products and limestone, respectively from Zhejiang province and Jiangsu province.

The Ministry of Transport and the ministry's affiliated maritime affairs authorities have sent rescuers and experts for salvage and investigation.