Chinese fishing boat sinks off Mexican coast

MEXICO CITY/LOS ANGELES - A Chinese fishing boat caught fire and sank near Mexican coast and it was not clear whether there were casualties in the shipwreck, Li Shu, director of the consular section of the Chinese Embassy in Mexico, said Sunday.

The Mexican navy has confirmed that the accident happened about 900 nautical miles off Mexico, but it can not confirm the number and nationality of people on board so far either, Li said.

An Associated Press report quoted an official at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in the United States as saying earlier that a Venezuelan vessel found a raft with 11 people aboard about 1,000 nautical miles off Mexico's western coast Friday afternoon. Among them, four people were badly burned.

The US air force received a request for help from the Venezuelan ship and rescue personnel arrived at the scene Saturday afternoon.

The rescue operation continued through the early hours of Sunday, but two people died of serious injuries.

The report also said the two dead were Chinese, while two other injured people were being sent to a burn center for further treatment.