8 missing, 10 dead in pair of China boating disasters
Spectators watch as dragon boats race across a lake during Duanwu Festival celebrations at Taoranting Park in Beijing, Thursday, June 9, 2016. The Duanwu festival, also known as the Dragon Boat festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and is marked by eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats. AP
BEIJING — Chinese authorities say eight people remain missing and 10 are confirmed dead in a pair of recent boating disasters.
The most recent incident occurred Thursday when a dragon boat taking part in a traditional festival race in the eastern province of Fujian capsized on the famed Minjiang river with 36 people onboard. All but three have been rescued.
Divers meanwhile retrieved the bodies of six people from Bailong lake in Sichuan province, bringing the death toll in that June 4 accident to 10 with five still missing. The capsizing of the tourist pleasure boat with 18 people on board was blamed on a sudden storm that stirred up unusually large waves.
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