At least eight persons were killed and one went missing when an 'overloaded' boat sank in the Zijiang River in China's central Hunan Province.
The accident took place yesterday when a private boat with 18 people on board sank on the Jiugongqiao section of Zijiang River.
Nine people have been rescued, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.
The preliminary investigation shows that the boat got into difficulty due to the strong current.
According to a member of staff with local maritime bureau, the boat should only carry at most eight passengers.
"The boat started to sink and everybody fell into the water," one survivor said, whose husband died in the accident.
A man from Tanghong Village in Jiugongqiao in Shaoyang County had borrowed the boat to take his family to an island on the other side of the river.
The boat sank on the return journey.
Among the passengers was a 61-year-old and a one-year-old infant. It is unclear whether they survived or not.
Seven of the nine rescued people have been discharged from hospital.
