CHANGSHA - Three people died and five others went missing after a ferry boat collided with a cargo ship and sunk Tuesday in a section of the Yangtze River, China's largest, in the central province of Hubei.

The accident took place at 3:15 pm when the boat was crossing the river southward from Jianli county of Hubei Province to Yunxi district of Yueyang City, Hunan Province, the city government said in a statement.

The boat, which is designed to carry a maximum of 20 passengers, had 14 people aboard at the time of the accident.

All the 14 people, all from Yunxi district, fell into the river after the collision.

Rescuers from local maritime authorities' patrol boats and five other boats helped to rescue nine people, but three were already drowned, the statement said.

The search and rescue is underway to locate the missing people.