At least 23 people were killed when a ferry reportedly carrying over twice its licenced passenger load overturned on a river in central China, a state newspaper and local official said today.
Another 22 people aboard the boat survived and most have been released from hospital after treatment for minor injuries, said a spokesman for the Bozhou city government in Anhui province.
The spokesman said the boat, licenced to carry 20 passengers, was carrying 45 when it capsized.
He said police arrested the boat's captain and his wife, who was operating the boat at the time on Friday.
The Beijing Morning Postsaid 24 died in the accident. The paper said the captain originally refused to make the trip across the Huiji river due to overloading, but a passenger forced the boat away from shore and out into the river, where it flipped over.
The passenger fled after swimming to shore, the newspaper said.
AP