An Indonesian-registered oil tanker collided with a Dominican-registered dredger off Singaporean waters in the early hours of Wednesday, leaving at least two dead and three other dredger crew members missing, authorities said.

The incident again exposed the likelihood of incidents in waters around Singapore, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. The route includes a narrow strait that presents navigational challenges for the huge number of vessels in the area, mostly cargo ships traveling between Asia and Europe.

Wednesday’s accident came just weeks after another deadly collision in the same waters involving a United States warship.

As of 4 p.m., hours after the search-and-rescue (SAR) operation had began, divers finally recovered two bodies believed to be of missing crew members from the partially submerged dredger, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said.

The five missing crew members were among 12 sailors — 11 Chinese nationals and one Malaysian — on board the Dominican-registered dredger JBB De Rong 19 when it collided with Indonesian tanker Kartika Segara at 12:40 a.m. local time.

The MPA has coordinated with the Indonesian Rescue Coordination Center to carry out SAR operations. “We will continue with our search-and-rescue efforts to find the remaining three missing crew members,” MPA chief executive Andrew Tan said in a statement.

Seven injured Chinese crew members rescued by the Singapore Police Coast Guard were sent to Singapore General Hospital for treatment. At least five were discharged later on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the 26 crew members of the Indonesian tanker were not hurt despite damage to the tanker’s starboard bow.

MPA authorities said no oil spill had been reported and that the accident did not cause disruptions to traffic in the area.

The collision took place about 1.7 nautical miles south-west of Sisters’ Islands. The tanker was joining the eastbound lane to depart while the dredger was transiting in the westbound lane when they collided.

According to the MPA, Singapore’s Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) provided timely navigational information and warned both ships to take actions to avoid collision prior to the incident. The MPA is investigating the incident.

Singapore deployed five aircraft, including two Super Pumas and one Fokker 50 from the Singapore Air Force, as well as 22 vessels from six agencies, including the Singapore Navy and the Singapore Police Coast Guard, to support the SAR operations.

Indonesian authorities also deployed vessels to assist in SAR operations.

The Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) vessel the KN Belut Laut departed from the board’s base in Batam, Riau Islands, joining two patrol vessels of the Riau Islands water Police, Bakamla maritime operations director Commodore Rahmat Eko Raharjo said.

“We also anticipate the possibility of accidental oil spills at sea, given that it was an oil tanker,” Rahmat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Customs and Excise Directorate General’s office in Riau Islands deployed a BC 7005 patrol vessel from Batam and four other vessels from Karimun.

National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Tanjungpinang deployed the KN SAR Purworejo, while the Indonesian Navy deployed three warships, namely the KRI Surik, KRI Parang and KRI Parangsang.

In August, the USS John S. McCain collided with an oil tanker off Singapore when the US guided missile destroyer approached the city state for a routine port call. The incident left 10 US Navy sailors dead and five crew members injured.

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