Seoul, Oct 16 (IANS): At least nine people were killed and two were missing after a Panamanian-registered cargo ship carrying 19 people sank amid a storm in South Korea's Pohang harbour Tuesday, an official said.

An official from the Chinese Consulate General in Busan, South Korea, confirmed that among the 19 people aboard, 18 were Chinese citizens and one was Vietnamese.

Eight people were rescued and nine bodies have been recovered so far, South Korea's coast guard said.

The ship CHENGLU15 set off from Pyeongtaek port of South Korea's west coast Oct 2 and arrived at Pohang two days later to unload the cargo.

It was planning to leave for Japan Tuesday after unloading all the cargo, but decided to stay on considering the bad weather.

On Tuesday afternoon, the ship crew called the police, reporting that the ship ran into a seawall as its anchor was swept away by the storm.

The ship sank after six hours in Yingri harbour of Pohang.

The ship belonged to China's Lishen International Shipping Group Corporation in Zhejiang province.