Southwestern Sichuan Province will launch a three-month campaign to improve water transport safety after a boat-sinking accident killed 28 people a week ago, the local government said Thursday.

The tragedy happened on March 15 at the Yuechi County when an overloaded boat sank in a river. Twenty-eight passengers, most of them elder and women drowned. Twelve managed to escape.

An investigation shows the boat was registered to carry just two passengers.

The water transport safety campaign will be jointly launched by the provincial departments of communication, water resources, public security and supervision and production safety administration.

The governments at the county-level were also required to assign special officials to take charge of water transport safety.

The Sichuan Red Cross Society has donated 200,000 (US$25,000) to the victims' families.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2006)