Rescuers have retrieved four bodies and saved eight people who fell into river after their boat capsized in east China's Fujian Province on Sunday.

 

Emergency response teams continue to search for two missing male passengers.

 

The accident happened around 10:30 AM Sunday in Nanyu township, Minhou County in Fujian, when a ferry with 14 people on board crashed into a boat used to carry sand on a tributary of the Minjiang River, said Song Youhua, deputy chief of the Nanyu township party committee.

 

Local rescue headquarters organized more than 30 boats and 300 people to rescue the missing, all of whom are residents from the area.

 

Song said there were no signs of overloading and both boats are licensed to operate on the river.

 

Local marine staff has seized the sand-laden boat and are investigating the cause of the accident.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2007)