WUHAN - Two people have been confirmed dead, with nine others still missing, two days after a boat from Central China's Hubei province capsized in the neighboring province of Hunan, local authorities said Saturday.

One body was found on the scene as a sand-carrying boat capsized at around 4 am Thursday, and rescuers retrieved another body from the water later, according to a press release from the Jingzhou City Government.

The dead, both natives of the city, were the chief engineer and the chef of the boat, said the release.

The accident occurred in high winds in a tributary of Dongting Lake, China's second-largest freshwater lake, in Hunan province.

Of the 17 people on the boat, only six have so far been rescued, the document said.

The 1,500-tonne boat belonged to a maritime company registered in Jianli county of the city.

Rescuers are continuing the search operation, and the cause of the accident is under investigation.