17 drown after two dragon boats capsize
Seventeen people died after two dragon boats capsized in a river in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Saturday, the local government said on Sunday.
The two 18-meter-long dragon boats, with a total of 60 people on board, rolled over in the Taohua River in Guilin at around 1:40 pm, throwing 57 people into the water.
More than 700 people, including police and rescue workers, joined the search for survivors. After nine hours of searching, 40 people had been rescued. Seventeen others were confirmed dead.
The 60 people on the two boats were all from Dunmu village near the river.
A dragon boat race was planned to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar — June 18 this year. The two crews were taking part in voluntary practice for the race when the boats capsized, the local government said.
Witnesses said the two boats rolled over in succession as rowers took them over a weir in the river.
“None of them had life jackets,” a rescue worker said of the victims. He said the water swirled as it dropped over the weir, creating a strong suction force that could trap people.
“Even though you can swim, it needs more energy and skill to escape from this,” he said.
Authorities in Guilin said the Dunmu residents had organized the practice session without notifying the police beforehand. Two organizers have been detained.