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Summary An overloaded ferry capsized in a central China river, killing 11 people, including nine students.
A ferry capsized and sank in a river in central China, drowning 11 people and injuring another 16. The ferry was carrying 45 people -- most of them students and two boat owners -- when the accident took place in Fuyi River in Shaoyang County of Hunan province, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.The overloaded boat, chartered by local schools to send students back home across the river, ran into iron cables used for dredgers under the water before capsizing, the report said.A joint rescue team of villagers and policemen had retrieved 11 bodies and are still searching for three people missing, the report said.The nine students who died studied at local primary and middle schools. They had boarded the ferry to return home for the Mid-Autumn Festival that falls on September 12, a traditional Chinese holiday for family reunions, Chinese Central Television (CCTV) reported.The two ferry owners, who managed to escape from the deadly wreck with another 13 passengers, have been under police custody as local authorities investigate the cause of the accident. The injured passengers have been treated in local hospital, it said.The Hunan provincial government has ordered a thorough inspection and overhaul on docks to prohibit possible overloading and illegal operations, the report added.
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