JINAN - Thirty-five fishing boats that earlier were reportedly missing off East China`s coast have been found, local authorities said late Saturday.

The 35 boats from East China`s Shandong province with about 300 people on board once lost contact with their families in the sea off Zhejiang province, the Shandong Provincial Sea and Fishery Resources Bureau said in a statement.

Two rescue ships have arrived at the scene to help them return to safe waters, according to maritime authorities in Zhejiang.

Typhoon Muifa is most likely to brush Shanghai and continue moving northward to land in Shandong, rather than making landfall in Zhejiang province or Shanghai as previously expected.