DHAKA: Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead after a tugboat capsized on the Yangtze river in eastern China.

State media report, the BBC says.

The boat, with 25 people on board, overturned on Thursday while it was conducting tests on the river near Zhangjiagang, in Jiangsu province.

Eight foreigners were among those on board, including Singaporean, Indian, Malaysian and Japanese nationals.

Three people have been rescued and the search continues for one person.

Embassies in China gave the number of foreigners on board as four Singaporeans, two Malaysians, one Indian and one Japanese.

The three people rescued were all Chinese, Xinhua news agency reported.

BDST: 1158 HRS, JAN 17, 2015