20 confirmed dead in south China shipwreck

The death toll in a shipwreck in south China two weeks ago has risen to 20 as six missing people were confirmed dead, local authorities said Tuesday night.

A passenger ship sunk into the Xunjiang River after colliding with a cargo ship in the city of Guiping in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on March 11.

A total of 14 passengers were found dead and six were missing as of March 15. The search efforts lasted until Sunday when the bodies of all six people were retrieved, the Guiping city government said in a statement.

Thirty people, including two crew members, survived the shipwreck.

According to a preliminary investigation, the cargo ship was blamed for the accident. It was traveling outside of the river's designated shipping lane when it collided with the passenger vessel.

With a maximum capacity of 30 people, the passenger vessel also was overloaded at the time of the collision.

The cargo ship's pilot, the passenger vessel's captain and owners of both the ships have been detained.