A cruise ship sank on a lake in Sichuan Province amid heavy gusts of wind on Saturday, mainland media reported.
A tourist surnamed Zhao who happened to be fishing in the same lake at 2:50 in the afternoon, the time of the accident, said the ship sank after it saw strong gusts of wind. Mr Zhao called the cops who later dragged out two adults and three children from the ship, according to Chengdu Commercial Daily.
The ship was carrying 11 passengers, provincial mouthpiece Sichuan Daily reported. Four passengers had been dragged out by five in the afternoon, it added. Rescue is still underway.
Balong Lake, located in Guangyuan city in Sichuan, is tourist attraction that covers an area of 420 square kilometers, more than five times the size of Hong Kong Island. The lake was located around the upstream of Jialing River, a branch of the Yangtze River.
The accident has raised eyebrow as a much bigger cruise ship sank around the same time last year on Yangtze River.
The Eastern Star cruise ship, carrying 405 passengers along with 51 crew members and tour guides sank June 1 last year, near Jianli County of Hubei. The accident, which saw only 12 survivors, was the worst ship accident in the history of the People’s Republic of China.