JAKARTA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A total of 15 people are missing as a ship collided with a boat in waters off Tuban district of East Java province in western parts of Indonesia on Saturday, a senior official of local disaster agency said.

The collision occurred at 4:10 a.m. local time involving a Vietnamese-flag ship and an Indonesian sailor boat which was carrying 27 people, said Joko Loediyono, head of the disaster agency at the district.

All the victims are those aboard the boat, as the rescuers had evacuated 12 of them safely, said the official.

"Search for the missing persons is underway now," Loediyono told Xinhua via phone from Tuban district.

The ship was loaded with tapioca flour and heading to Tanjung Perak seaport in Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java, he added.