GUIPING, Guangxi - A ship sunk Sunday in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, leaving at least two people dead and six missing, local authorities said Tuesday afternoon.

The passenger ship, from which 30 people have been rescued, collided with a cargo ship loaded with porcelain clay on the Xunjiang River in Guiping city, said Zeng Jianqing, executive vice mayor of Guiping city.

The owner of the ship, which has a capacity of 30, has said that 38 people were on board, after previously claiming that the passenger number was 29.

The search for the missing people is continuing, and the exact number of passengers on board when the crash happened is still unconfirmed, Zeng said.