Beijing: Two dragon boats practicing to race on a river in China have overturned and 17 people drowned, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

Television pictures showed one of the long, narrow boats packed with paddlers going over on Saturday on a stretch of a river near the city of Guilin where the current appeared to be strong.

Another dragon boat arrived at the scene, also full of paddlers, and it too capsized, the pictures showed.

Xinhua said 57 people had gone into the water and 200 rescuers were sent to help. The rescue effort went on late into the night.

The accident happened where two flows of the river converge causing a powerful current, the CCTV broadcaster said. Most of those who went into the river were not wearing life jackets, media reported.