KUNMING - Six villagers were reported missing after a boat carrying 19 people capsized on a river in southwest China's Yunnan province on Saturday, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at around 3:30 p.m., when a boat struck an obstacle and capsized on the Xiyang River in the Guangnan county, the county government said in a statement.

The statement said the 19 villagers aboard were flung into the water, among whom 13 were rescued and six remained missing. The water has been turbulent in the river in recent days due to torrential rains, it added.

The search for the missing is ongoing.