SHAOYANG, Hunan, Feb. 22 -- Three people were confirmed dead and another 6 are missing after a boat sank in Zijiang river in central China's Hunan Province on Saturday afternoon, local authorities said on Sunday.

The accident happened around 4 p.m. Saturday when a private boat with 18 people on board sank on Jiugongqiao section of Zijiang river. Nine people were rescued, three died, and another six is still missing.

The boat was driven by a villager of Tanghong village in Jiugongqiao township in Shaoyang county, who borrowed the boat from another villager and took his family for a trip to the island on the other side of the river. The boat sank on their way back home.

Rescue work is undergoing, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.