KUALA LUMPUR - Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian on Friday expressed his appreciation for Malaysia's all-out efforts in search and rescue for the missing crew of a capsized sand dredger.

Malaysia launched search and rescue operations involving multi-agencies, including the coast guard, the navy and police, after a sand dredging vessel capsized Wednesday in the waters off its southern Johor state.

There were a total of 18 onboard the ship when the incident happened, including 16 Chinese, one Malaysian and one Indonesia. Three Chinese were rescued while one was dead. Another two Chinese were rescued by divers on Friday after being trapped inside the ship for more than 50 hours.

Following the incident, the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia has asked for assistance from various Malaysian ministries and agencies for search and rescue operation, and had received positive responses, said Bai.

"We really feel that the Malaysian government has attached great importance to the search and rescue operations. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the Navy immediately sent divers and rescuers with professional equipment by sea and by land overnight to join the operations," he told reporters at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

Various government ministries have stated that the Malaysian side will do its utmost to find the missing crew, he said, adding that hospitals were instructed to be prepared should survivors be found.

At the invitation of the Malaysian side, China has sent rescuers, including divers, to Malaysia to join the operations, Bai said. Rescuers from the two countries cooperated closely in devising the rescue plan and conducting underwater search.

"The search and rescue operations have become important practical cooperation between the Chinese and Malaysian maritime rescuers, while demonstrating the friendship between the two countries that we are like family that could go through hardship together," said the ambassador.

"I have expressed my appreciation to the various Malaysian agencies for their all-out efforts in the search and rescue. We will continue work closely with the Malaysian government to continue the search," he said.