Hundred of passengers remain unaccounted for more than 12 hours after a ship carrying 458 people sank in China’s Yangtze River, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency.
The captain and chief engineer, who were reportedly among at least a dozen passengers rescued, told Xinhua that the ship sank within one or two minutes after being caught in a cyclone around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Another five people are confirmed dead.
The four-tier Dongfangzhixing or “Eastern Star,” was carrying five travel agency workers, 47 crew members and 406 Chinese passengers. Most of the passengers were between 50 and 80 years old and were traveling as part of a tour arranged by the state-owned Shanghai Xiehe Travel Agency. The youngest was only three, according to Xinhua.
The boat was en route from the the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing, more than 850 miles away. It capsized in Jianli County in Hubei Province, about 600 miles west of Shanghai.
It’s not immediately clear what caused the ship to sink so quickly. Though local media has reported stormy weather in the area around the time of the accident, the New York Times noted that the Chinese term for tornado or cyclone could describe a range of weather:
In Chinese, the term for tornado, longjuanfeng, is used more loosely than Americans use its English equivalent. One report in a Chinese newspaper said that a “tornado,” with winds of about 50 miles per hour, had struck the area around the time the ship was reported to have capsized. Winds of that strength are associated with twisters near or below the lowest rung on the six-level scale used in the United States to measure tornadoes.
Amid the chaos of rescue, reports conflict on the total number of people who have been pulled from the ship, which appears almost entirely submerged in the 50-foot-deep water.
About 12 people were able to swim to shore after the boat first sank, and six additional the survivors were brought to safety after rescuers heard their cries from inside the capsized ship, the Associated Press reported based on footage from state broadcaster CCTV. One rescued woman was reported to be 65 years old (though media initially put her age at 85), but was found in good health. Three others were pulled from the wreck after part of the ship was cut open, according to the People’s Daily.
Early evening on Tuesday the People’s Daily reported that three more bodies had been found about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the location of the shipwreck — an indication of how far the swift-moving current could carry the shipwreck’s victims.
Rescuers in orange vests remain atop the boat’s overturned hull, which just barely peeks out over the top of the waves. Footage taken from CCTV shows them tapping on the hull with hammers and listening for a response from within.
Most of the passengers were from Shanghai and nearby Jiangsu Province, the New York Times said, citing a report in the Chinese language Hubei Daily. Relatives of those on board have gathered outside the offices of the Shanghai tour operator that booked the trip, clamoring for news of their family. Many said that they had learned of the accident from news reports and social media, not the travel agency.
PM Modi expresses shock at the sinking of a cruise ship in the Yangtze River
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has expressed shock at the sinking of a cruise ship in the Yangtze River.
“Shocked to learn of the sinking of a cruise ship in the Yangtze River. I pray for the safety and wellbeing of those on board,” the Prime Minister said.
