Two crewmembers of a Japanese cargo ship that sank in Japan's Seto Inland Sea remain missing. This comes after rescuers conducted an underwater search for them on Saturday.

The Seiryu sank on Thursday, after it collided with another Japanese cargo ship off western Japan's Ehime Prefecture.

A rescue team from the Japan Coast Guard has been searching for the missing captain and the first officer. The Coast Guard has dispatched patrol boats. It has also sent divers to look for the men underwater.

Coast guard officials report that a sunken ship is lying about 60 meters under the water. They say it appears to be the Seiryu. The officials say the search is being hampered by poor visibility under the water and the low water temperature.

They say the rescuers will dive again to look for the men and examine the ship, when the tide allows them to do so.

Officials from the government's Transport Safety Board visited the local coast guard office on Saturday afternoon. They are going to investigate the collision. The officials plan to question the crewmembers of both ships.