SYDNEY, May 18, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - China urged Australia on Thursday to send more aircraft, ships and personnel to find a fishing vessel that capsized in the Indian Ocean with 39 people aboard.

Chinese vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned in the early hours of Tuesday with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board.

"To this moment, no individual has been found alive, whatsoever," China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, told reporters in Canberra.

Australia had dispatched three airplanes and four ships to help in the international search-and-rescue efforts, the ambassador said.

China was now seeking further help in coordination with Australian defence officials, he said.

"We wish that they could send more aircraft, more ships and more staff to that area," Xiao said.

The ship capsized within Australia's vast search-and-rescue region, the diplomat said, noting however that it was 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) to the west of Perth, state capital of Western Australia.

Beijing has deployed two commercial vessels to the area -- the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 018 and Yuan Fu Hai -- to help with the operation, state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday.

The Chinese ambassador asked the Australian government to coordinate the search and rescue with other countries closer to the capsized fishing vessel.

Countries are responsible for ensuring search and rescue in determined areas of the world's oceans under an international maritime convention.