CHANGSHA - Eight people have been confirmed missing after a boat capsized early Sunday morning in central China's Hunan province, local authorities said.

Eleven people were aboard the flat-bottomed cargo boat when the accident occurred at around 3:40 am in waters near Pingshan village, Anhua county, according to the county's publicity department.

Three people, including the boat's owner, have been rescued.

Rescuers are continuing to search for the eight missing people.

Four trucks the boat was hauling also sank.