Chinese military forces had retrieved 17 Filipino crew members from a shipwreck in the South China Sea.

Axar.az reports, citing the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command, fourteen of those rescued are in stable condition and one is in emergency care, while two had died, the command said.

It added that a foreign cargo ship en route from the Philippines to south China's Guangdong Province had tilted and lost contact in waters about 55 nautical miles northwest of China's Huangyan Dao, with a total of 21 crew members on board.

Chinese maritime authorities are dispatching additional rescue forces to the area, while search and rescue efforts remain ongoing, the command said.