Hundreds of people are feared dead after a cruise ship capsized on China’s Yangtze river on Monday after reportedly being caught in a sudden storm.
As nightfall approached yesterday, fewer than 20 of the 458 on board had been rescued and only five bodies recovered, state media reported. Television images from the scene showed a long sliver of the vessel’s hull above water as emergency teams worked frantically in poor weather.
The official People’s Daily reported that there were signs of life inside the Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, and state broadcast footage showed rescue workers trying to cut through a portion of the exposed hull. A local newspaper said the cruise ship went down in about 15 metres of water.