QINGDAO -- One crewman remains missing after a Panama-registered freighter caught fire off the coast of East China Sunday evening, local marine authorities said on Feb 25.

The fire that broke out on the freighter HUA SHAN has been extinguished, the maritime safety administration of east China's Shandong province said.

Sixteen crewmen, all from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), were aboard the freighter when the fire broke out. Fifteen of them have been rescued.

At 7:57 pm Sunday, the Shandong maritime rescue center received a report that the engine room of the freighter was on fire in waters near Chaolian Island.

The center made contact with the owner of the freighter after receiving the report.