Thirty four people reported missing after an oil tanker caught fire in the East China Sea have been found the Japanese Coast Guard said.

The Indian-registered, 26,450 tonne Pratbiha Yamuna issued an SOS after it set ablaze on Saturday night about 550km (341 miles) west of the southern Japanese island of Amami Oshima.

The crew, all Indian, were feared lost but on Sunday the coast guard received a fax from China's Rescue Coordination Center in Beijing saying a Chinese boat had rescued them all.

No oil spill

The tanker was not carrying any oil on its voyage to China after stopping in South Korea en route from Singapore.

The fire was brought under control and the vessel is being taken to Shanghai by a Chinese tug boat. There are no reports of any oil spill.

Earlier, a passing cargo ship reported sighted three people on the deck of the burning vessel who told them by radio that there had been an explosion.

But a coast guard aircraft found no survivors, and boats searching the next morning found only one empty lifeboat.