<p><br /> At least three people have been rescued after Japan, Taiwan and China scrambled to save the lives of 20 Chinese crewmen.<br /> </p><p><br /> The sailors went missing after a Panama registered cargo ship sunk off the island of Iriomote in southern Japan.<br /> </p><p><br /> Three seamen were rescued and one found dead off the island, according the Japan's Coast Guard.<br /> </p><p><br /> Another crew member was found but it is not clear if he was alive. The survivors were taken by helicopter for medical treatment at hospitals on the island of Ishigaki.<br /> </p><p><br /> It is unclear what happened to the ship but Japanese media report that crew members told the Coast Guard that the ship has just suddenly taken water and sunk.<br /> </p><p><br /> China and Japan have clashed recently over disputed isles in the East China Sea not too far from area where the cargo ship sunk.<br /> </p>
