CHANGSHA - Authorities in central China plan to build a bridge across a river where 12 people drowned last week when an overloaded ferry sank, a local official said Monday.

The decision to build a bridge across the Fuyi River was made a day after the deadly accident by Hunan provincial officials who came to the county of Shaoyang to direct the rescue operations, said Duan Shaoxing, vice head of the county government.

Duan said the construction is estimated to cost 14 million yuan ($2.24 million). The funding will come from three departments of the provincial government, he added.

Local residents said the section of the river was prone to accidents, and they have urged the government to build a bridge for quite some time.

In the latest accident, a ferry boat sank on Friday afternoon after its propellers were tangled by iron cables used for sand mining dredgers, local officials said. The boat, designed to carry 14 people at most, was loaded with 50, who were mostly students from two primary and middle schools heading home for the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival.

Of the survivors, 20 were injured. Duan said all the families have agreed to be compensated of 200,000 yuan by the government for each person who died in the accident.