Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has extended his condolences to his Iranian counterpart over the deaths of 30 Iranian crew members, after their vessel, named "Sanchi", sank Sunday afternoon in the East China Sea. The tanker burned for nearly a week after colliding with a freighter. Chinese authorities say they will put everything into the aftermath of this accident, including the clean-up, investigation and attending to the needs of the victims' relatives.

LU KANG CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON "We will conduct the clean-up and rehabilitation process according to existing rules, and welcome Iranian efforts into the investigation. We will do everything we can to help the relatives of the deceased who are coming to China."

Lu also expressed deep condolences again at Tuesday's regular briefing.

LU KANG CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON "Both China and Iran did everything we could from the moment we knew of the incident. We've had assistance from nearby Shanghai, and Jiangsu province, as well as South Korea and Japan. We tried everything. We're all sad over the sinking."

32 people are believed to have died from the accident. While it will take a tremendous effort to contain the oil which spilled from the tanker.

ZHANG YUE NATIONAL OCEANIC ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER "After we arrived at the collision site, we found the tanker was completely submerged, there was no fire or smoke. But there was an oil spill, its colour was bright white, the peripheral area was black and brown. Ships at the site have begun cleansing the oil."

Unfortunately, tests in nearby waters show they are slick with oil, with some even revealing high levels of pollution.