| Wall Street Journal | - |
BEIJING—Authorities
reported finding 12 survivors and five bodies from a passenger ship a
day after it capsized in China's Yangtze River with 458 people onboard
amid severe weather.
Ship Carrying More Than 450 People Sinks in China’s Yangtze River
Search teams have rescued 12 survivors and recovered five bodies
Rescuers look for survivors after a passenger ship carrying more than 450 people sinks in China's Yangtze River. Video:AP
Footage broadcast by state-run China Central Television showed rescuers walking along the overturned hull, tapping at it and trying to cut through it with a blowtorch. CCTV earlier reported that rescuers were able to talk with people still inside the ship, which was floating in the middle reaches of the Yangtze. Images posted online by the state-run Hubei Daily showed rescuers pulling a woman onto the top of the hull.
The captain described the ship as sinking quickly after being caught in a tornado Monday night, Xinhua said.
The ship had set out from Nanjing on Thursday and was heading upriver toward the inland metropolis of Chongqing, plying a route popular with tourists that runs through scenic canyons known as the Three Gorges.
Onboard were 406 passengers, five travel-agency staff and 47 crew members when the ship sank at 9:28 p.m. Monday, state media said, citing Yangtze River navigation administrative authorities. Many of the passengers were from the eastern province of Jiangsu and the adjacent city of Shanghai, state media said, and a large contingent were elderly people on package tours--some in their 80s—organized by a Shanghai travel agency.
“How can they be so irresponsible? There has been no word from them,” said 59-year-old Ji Fumin, who said his wife, his wife’s aunt and a friend were on board the ship.
A person answering a call made to a number posted on the door of Shanghai Xiehe Travel Agency declined to comment, saying the number was only for relatives.
Authorities said they were trying to piece together what had happened to the Eastern Star on Monday night as it passed through Jianli county in central Hubei province. The area has experienced heavy rains in recent days.
ENLARGE
In an image taken from
China Central Television coverage, a rescue worker listened for a
response as he tapped on the hull of the capsized ferry in the Yangtze
River on Tuesday.
Photo:
Associated Press
The water where the boat sank was around 50 feet deep, according to a report posted to the verified social media account of the state-run newspaper Hubei Daily.
The captain was one of two survivors pulled out of the water before midnight at a pier downstream near the nearby city of Yueyang, state-run newspaper Hubei Daily reported, citing Yueyang maritime safety agency. The agency dispatched staff to the scene, where they rescued eight people.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang traveled to Jianli to direct the rescue efforts, Xinhua said. Photos posted to one of the central government social media feeds showed Mr. Li talking to soldiers and examining the rescue from a boat near where the Eastern Star sank. The mobilization included helicopters, naval scuba divers, and more than a 1,000 paramilitary police, state media said.
Operators of the massive Three Gorges Dam, located up river from the capsized ship, reduced the amount of water released from dam by more than half to aid the rescue effort, Xinhua said citing a water conservation official.
In May, tourism authorities in Shanghai and neighboring provinces launched a Yangtze River tourism promotion as part of efforts to boost economic growth, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
—Yang Jie, Liyan Qi and Esther Fung contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Chin at josh.chin@wsj.comend quote from:
Ship Carrying More Than 450 People Sinks in China's Yangtze River
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  Ship Carrying More Than 450 People Sinks in China’s Yangtze RiverSearch teams have rescued 12 survivors and recovered five bodies
Rescuers look for survivors after a passenger ship carrying more than 450 people sinks in China's Yangtze River. Video:AP
Footage broadcast by state-run China Central Television showed rescuers walking along the overturned hull, tapping at it and trying to cut through it with a blowtorch. CCTV earlier reported that rescuers were able to talk with people still inside the ship, which was floating in the middle reaches of the Yangtze. Images posted online by the state-run Hubei Daily showed rescuers pulling a woman onto the top of the hull. The captain described the ship as sinking quickly after being caught in a tornado Monday night, Xinhua said. The ship had set out from Nanjing on Thursday and was heading upriver toward the inland metropolis of Chongqing, plying a route popular with tourists that runs through scenic canyons known as the Three Gorges. Onboard were 406 passengers, five travel-agency staff and 47 crew members when the ship sank at 9:28 p.m. Monday, state media said, citing Yangtze River navigation administrative authorities. Many of the passengers were from the eastern province of Jiangsu and the adjacent city of Shanghai, state media said, and a large contingent were elderly people on package tours--some in their 80s—organized by a Shanghai travel agency. “How can they be so irresponsible? There has been no word from them,” said 59-year-old Ji Fumin, who said his wife, his wife’s aunt and a friend were on board the ship. A person answering a call made to a number posted on the door of Shanghai Xiehe Travel Agency declined to comment, saying the number was only for relatives. Authorities said they were trying to piece together what had happened to the Eastern Star on Monday night as it passed through Jianli county in central Hubei province. The area has experienced heavy rains in recent days.
ENLARGE
In an image taken from
China Central Television coverage, a rescue worker listened for a
response as he tapped on the hull of the capsized ferry in the Yangtze
River on Tuesday.
Photo:
Associated Press
The water where the boat sank was around 50 feet deep, according to a report posted to the verified social media account of the state-run newspaper Hubei Daily. The captain was one of two survivors pulled out of the water before midnight at a pier downstream near the nearby city of Yueyang, state-run newspaper Hubei Daily reported, citing Yueyang maritime safety agency. The agency dispatched staff to the scene, where they rescued eight people. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang traveled to Jianli to direct the rescue efforts, Xinhua said. Photos posted to one of the central government social media feeds showed Mr. Li talking to soldiers and examining the rescue from a boat near where the Eastern Star sank. The mobilization included helicopters, naval scuba divers, and more than a 1,000 paramilitary police, state media said. Operators of the massive Three Gorges Dam, located up river from the capsized ship, reduced the amount of water released from dam by more than half to aid the rescue effort, Xinhua said citing a water conservation official. In May, tourism authorities in Shanghai and neighboring provinces launched a Yangtze River tourism promotion as part of efforts to boost economic growth, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
—Yang Jie, Liyan Qi and Esther Fung contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Chin at josh.chin@wsj.com |