At least 11 dead after Chinese river ferry hit by larger vessel

A small ferry was hit by an oil spill cleaning vessel on a river in central China, state media said on Friday night, killing 11 people while five more are missing.

Nineteen people fell overboard during the crash on the Yuanshui River in Hunan province on Tuesday morning, and three were rescued the same day, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The accident happened at a point where the river is more than 60 metres (200 feet) deep on average and 500 metres wide.

Rescue teams salvaged the ferry on Friday night, according to Xinhua, and were continuing the search.

One person who was rescued escaped the ferry by breaking a window with his foot, a relative told ThePaper.cn, a Shanghai-based news platform.

The relative also said the ferry was the main way for people to come and go from their village.