HAIKOU, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Three of the 12 Chinese fisherman who went missing in the Nansha Islands in the wake of Typhoon Hagibis have been rescued, according to the Hainan search and rescue center, but official reluctance to impart information has left details hazy.

    The three fishermen were rescued by a foreign ship heading to Singapore, an official surnamed Zhong told Xinhua by phone.

    He claimed not to know which country the rescue ship was registered to, the condition of the rescued fishermen or where they were found.

    Meanwhile, 806 fishermen trapped in the Nansha and Xisha Islands are safe after they received food and water from rescue ships.

    The number of fishermen, earlier reported to be about 760, is likely to rise due to previous miscounting, said Zhou Wanli, head of the media office with the salvage bureau of the South China Sea.

    Rescue ships delivered 1,185 kilograms of rice, three tons of fuel, 250 kilograms of noodles and 80 kilograms of vegetables to 241 fishermen in the Meijiu and Meiji Reefs, Zhou said.

    Among the 806 trapped fishermen, seven Vietnamese and three Chinese were sent to Sanya of Hainan Province, while many others were set to return with their own boats or continue fishing as soon as weather permits, said the rescue official Zhong. He did not explain why the Vietnamese fishermen were sent to Sanya.

    Hagibis disappeared on Tuesday, according to the website of the China Meteorological Station in Beijing.