By Xinhua (Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-24 17:38

YINCHUAN -- Six people went missing when a home-made boat capsized in the Yellow River in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Sunday afternoon, the local government said on Monday.

The boat, unregistered and made of steel, was overloaded with 18 villagers and seven tons of corn when it sank in the torrential river, said Li Yufu, an official in charge of maritime affairs at the regional communications department.

The peasants from Matou village, Yingshui township in the city of Zhongwei, had harvested the corn from their fields on the river beach. Twelve of them were rescued, said Li.

Rescuers are still searching for the six missing, though they see slim chance for them to survive.

The local government has launched an investigation.

The 5,464 meter-long Yellow River, China's second longest, originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, winds its way through nine provinces and autonomous regions, and empties into the Bohai Sea in North China.