A river ferry overloaded with primary and secondary school students sank in China's Hunan province, killing at least 11 children, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, citing local authorities. The students had taken the ferry on Friday to cross a river to bring them from school to their homes for the Chinese mid-autumn festival, traditionally a time for family gatherings. China sacked three officials on Sunday for the accident, including a deputy chief of the county, Xinhua said. The ferry, designed to accommodate 14 passengers, had at least 50 people on board when it ran into riverside cables used by sand-dredging ships, Xinhua was quoted as reporting by Reuters.
