Aerial photo taken aboard surveillance plane of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) shows the oil spill on the water surface around the sunken Iranian tanker Sanchi in the East China Sea, Jan. 15, 2018. The SOA said in a statement that several oil slicks were found near the site where the vessel sank and they were much bigger than the previous day. The tanker Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, about 300 km east of the Yangtze River estuary on Jan. 6. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday extended to his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif condolences over the death of all the 30 Iranian sailors aboard an oil tanker that earlier collided with another vessel and sank off China's east coast.

In a message to Zarif, Wang expressed deep condolences over the death of the Iranian sailors aboard the tanker Sanchi as well as his sympathy toward their families.

Wang said China had done its utmost in the search and rescue operations carried out in close cooperation with Iran, and that it will maintain coordinations with Iran in follow-up work.

The death of the Iranian sailors was announced days after the Panama-registered tanker and the Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter CF Crystal collided in waters about 300 km east of the Yangtze River estuary on Jan. 6.

The tanker, carrying 136,000 tons of gas condensates and other oils, caught fire after the collision. It sank on Sunday after burning for eight days.

Three bodies have been recovered of the missing 32 crew members aboard Sanchi, which included two Bangladeshis.