Boat accident leaves six dead, 11 missing in southern Chile
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-28 14:24

At least six people were dead and 11 were missing after a boat capsized Sunday at a lake in southern Chile, authorities said.

The boat overturned on Maihue Lake, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Santiago, the government's Emergency Bureau reported late Sunday.

Sixteen of the 33 people aboard the vessel were rescued alive, the bureau said.

Many of the passengers were believed to be children who were on a year-end school outing, although their ages were not available, Navy Capt. Luis Burgos said from the port authority in nearby Valdivia.

A search for more survivors was suspended at sundown, and would resume Monday with additional rescue crews expected from Santiago, regional governor Jorge Vives said.

Burgos said the boat was sailing in bad weather, but it was not immediately clear what caused the accident. He did not know if the boat had been overcrowded.

"That boat isn't registered here, so we do not know what its capacity was," he said.

President Ricardo Lagos sent out a message of condolence to the victims' families.