BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Six crew members of a fishing boat from China's Taiwan region have been rescued from an accident in the East China Sea, the mainland coast guard said Friday.

The fishing boat, with seven crew members on board, caught fire at approximately 76 nautical miles northeast of Huangwei Yu in the East China Sea on Thursday, the coast guard statement said.

A mainland vessel on routine patrol duty immediately rushed to the affected waters to extinguish the fire and conduct search and rescue operations, the statement said.

As of now, six crew members have been rescued and rescue efforts are still ongoing, it added. ■