XI'AN - Six boys drowned in a river Thursday afternoon while another remains missing in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, local authorities said Friday.

The police of Xingping City rushed to rescue the boys after receiving phone calls from their families around midnight. Clothes and shoes of the seven missing youth were found at 5:50 a.m. Friday along the Weihe River, according to sources with the city's publicity office.

As of Friday afternoon, the bodies of six of the boys had been retrieved, with another still missing.

The seven boys aged 12 to 14 are from Youguo Village and Maju Village in Xingping.

A police investigation showed that they went missing after spending time together Thursday afternoon.