A child was confirmed dead and 14 other people went missing after a leisure boat capsized on a lake in southwest China's Sichuan Province Saturday, local authorities said.

The child was one of the four people who were pulled from the Bailong Lake in Guangyuan City after a leisure boat carrying 18 people capsized amid strong gales at 2:50 p.m., the press office of the Guangyuan city committee of the Communist Party of China said in a statement.

It said the child did not respond to emergency treatment and died at a local hospital.

The document did not give the name, age or gender of the child.

It said the other three survivors are out of danger but are still being treated.

The search for the missing continues.

The boat has 40 seats, but was carrying only 18 people when the accident happened.

Authorities said strong gales were to blame for the accident. An investigation has been launched. 

source : xinhua