Eight people, including one Chinese national, were found dead and close to 30 others are feared to have drowned after their speed boat sank in seas off eastern Indonesia last week, China's maritime search and rescue center said on Monday.

Twenty four Chinese were on the Indonesian ship "Dolphin" which sank on Jan. 27 due to bad weather as it travelled from Aru to Tual islands.

So far, one Chinese has been rescued alive by Indonesian rescuers, and the other 22 Chinese nationals are still missing, the center said. A total of 35 people were on the ship when it sank.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2010)