15 die as ships collide on Yangtze

Two cargo ships collided on China's Yangtze river Wednesday morning, killing at least 15 sailors, the state-run news agency said.

A cargo ship, with 17 crew members on board, sank after it crashed into another ship about 1730 GMT Tuesday), Xinhua said.

Rescue crews were able to pull out one sailor. Fifteen died, and a sixteenth person was still missing, the news agency said.

Authorities did not say what caused the collision.

Two ships were also left stranded on the snow-covered bank of the river as heavy snow and sleet brought parts of the country to a standstill earlier in the week.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/30/china.ship/index.html