Efforts are underway to control a big blaze on an Iranian oil tanker, which collided with a cargo ship off the east coast of China on Saturday. CGTN's Sean Callebs has been following the developments.

This has been the scene since Saturday evening. A fire burning out of control, on an Iranian tanker loaded with a highly volatile, ultra-light crude oil-with the potential for a massive maritime explosion.

LU KANG, SPOKESMAN CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "The Chinese government takes maritime accidents like this very seriously, and has already dispatched many search and rescue teams to the scene to care out search and rescue even though from what we understand the weather conditions are extremely unfavorable."

The tanker, collided with a Hong Kong registered freighter, filled with grain from the United States. It happened here, about 300-kilometers off the coast of Shanghai -in an area, not frequented by large vessels like oil tankers or container ships. There were 32 crew members aboard the Iranian tanker -- One body has been recovered, the rest are missing.

LU KANG, SPOKESMAN CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY "We are currently still investigating the cause of the accident. We are very grateful to other countries actively participating in the search and rescue."

The risk of a massive explosion is high. The tanker is carrying a crude oil called, condensate. When condensate mixes with water, it evaporates quickly. Once it reacts with air, it becomes a potent, flammable gas - creating the risk of a huge explosion.

The environmental group Greenpeace, released a statement saying: "We are worried about the potential environmental impact that could be caused by leakage from the vessel that was holding almost 42-million gallons of crude oil. A clean up procedure is already underway and we will be monitoring its progress." In September of last year, beaches in Greece were fouled after a tanker went down off the coast carrying 25-hundred tons of crude. "

Back in 2002, thousands of beaches were polluted in the worst oil spill to ever hit Spain - when the Prestige went down carrying 50-thousand tons of oil.

"The oil tanker Prestige sank off northern Spain in 2002, splitting up after being kept out at sea for six days following its first call for help. It spilled 50,000 tonnes of oil, polluting thousands of miles of coast."

Those spills were dwarfed by damage from the Exxon Valdez in 1989. It ran aground spilling nearly 11 million gallons of oil in Alaska's pristine Prince William Sound, where oil fouled nearly 21-hundred kilometers of coastline.

"On March 24, 1989, the tanker ran hard aground on Bligh Reef, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the sound -- at the time, the largest oil spill disaster in U.S. history."

SEAN CALLEBS WASHINGTON DC "Meanwhile, a small flotilla is trying to contain the damage. China, with seven vessels on site the Republic of Korea sent a ship and a helicopter. And, a U.S. Navy aircraft is also looking for missing crew members. Sean Callebs, CGTN, Washington."