NANNING - Rescuers have located a ship that sunk after colliding with a cargo vessel on Sunday in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, leaving at least two people dead and six missing, local authorities said Wednesday.

The passenger ship, from which 30 people were rescued, collided with a cargo ship loaded with porcelain clay on the Xunjiang river in the city of Guiping.

The ship was located by two divers at a depth of 200 meters Wednesday afternoon. Rescuers are working on the plan to salvage the ship, according to officials from the municipal government.

The exact number of people who were on the ship has yet to be verified, officials said.

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

The families of those who were believed to have been on board but remain unaccounted for are waiting anxiously on the river bank.

According to those families, a total of 18 people were unaccounted for, including 12 from Nanmu township and six from Shiju township. Five minors are among the missing, including a two-month-old baby and two four-year-old boys.

Local officials are trying to pinpoint the exact number of victims by visiting local households.

"The ship stopped at various points along the bank and some passengers went straight home after being rescued, so it is difficult to know the exact number of people on board when the accident happened. But based on the data that has been collected, the total number of missing people should be more than six," said a municipal official who refused to give his name.