SHANGHAI, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Over 20 persons from multiple countries died after a tugboat capsized on a river in eastern China, Chinese state media report.
The tugboat, named "Wanshenzhou 67," sank during a load test in the Yangtze River in east China's Jiangsu Province on Thursday, officials said Saturday. On board were 25 men, including the boat's owner and a team of engineers, eight of whom were from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Japan.
All eight are among the 21 confirmed dead in the accident, the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration told Xinhua News Agency. Three Chinese citizens were rescued from the water, while one person remains missing, according to Xinhua. The BBC reports 22 confirmed deaths.
The Wanshenzhou 67, constructed in China's Anhui province last October and registered in Singapore, capsized due to "improper operations," JMSA officials said.
The 98-foot-long, 368-ton tugboat was pulled Saturday from the Fubei Channel, near Jingjiang City, where it sank 40 hours earlier. It had been on its trial voyage, a survivor told the BBC.
