Chinese authorities confirmed 21 people were killed after a tugboat turned upside down and sank on the Yangtze river, state media reported.

On Thursday, the boat had 25 people on board when it capsized in the middle of performing river tests near Jiangsu province's Zhangjiagang.

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Rescuers have saved three people and they are still looking for one more passenger. Eight foreigners - an Indian, Singaporean, Japanese and Malaysian - were among the passengers on board.

Diplomatic missions in China accounted for foreigners on board the ill-fated boat as one Japanese, one Indian, two Malaysians and four Singaporeans. The government news agency, Xinhua, reported the three people rescued were all Chinese.

The Singapore-registered tugboat Wanshenzhou 67, which is 30-meters long, was in the middle of performing tests with engineers and the ship's owner on board.

Wang Chenhua, a survivor who was rescued on early Friday, said his team had been running the tugboat for a trial voyage.

Wang was acting as the translator of a 60-year-old Japanese engineer in the boat cockpit. He said the vessel suddenly turned over soon after performing a load test for the boat's main engine.

In less than half a minute, he said the cockpit was fully loaded with water. His only lifeline was holding on to a hydraulic pump that did not go under water.

Wang said he tried to save the Japanese engineer, but he lost his grip as the vessel took in more water.

The tugboat was built in China's Anhui province last October. Local port officials told Xinhua the vessel had not officially sought permission for the test plan and its route to the proper authorities. 

TagsYangtze River