GUANGZHOU - Nineteen people were rescued and three people remained missing following a shipwreck off the coast of South China's Guangdong province Wednesday night, local marine authorities said.

The municipal marine rescue center of Shantou received a report at 9:27 pm that a cargo ship capsized in the South China Sea near the Nan'ao Cross-sea Bridge, which is currently under construction, throwing its eight crew members into the water.

A container vessel then hit the wrecked ship and lost power, stranding 14 people on board and endangering the nearby bridge construction, the center said.

As of noon on Thursday, 19 people had been rescued from the water and from the stranded vessel, while rescuers continued to search for the three missing people.

An initial probe found that sea conditions were rough when the accidents happened.