MANILA, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-two crew, including 14 Chinese, aboard a cargo vessel have been rescued in a sea mishap off the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said on Wednesday.

The Embassy said the cargo vessel "Yongfeng" encountered a sudden fatal malfunction early on Wednesday morning in the sea about 400 nautical miles east off the Philippines.

"The boat caught fire and cargo hold was flooded. The life of the 22 crew was at great danger," the Embassy said in a statement.

The embassy appealed for help and got a rapid response from the Philippine government. All the crew have been picked up by a fishing boat operating nearby.

"Thanks to the rapid response and efficient coordination of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and Philippine Coast Guard. All the crew members are safe now," Huang Xilian, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, said in a Facebook post.

"As I always believe, through our hand-in-hand cooperation, we can provide better service to the people of our two countries," he added.