Rescuers slice into ship’s hull, pull out 39 bodies in China
JIANLI, China — Rescuers cut into the upside-down hull of a river cruise ship and pulled out 39 drowned passengers early today, raising the death toll to 65 since the Eastern Star capsized in the Yangtze River in a fierce storm with more than 450 people aboard.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said rescuers had stabilized the ship, which also has been referred to as the Oriental Star, with the help of a crane so that it doesn’t sink. They planned to cut into at least one other part of the hull in hopes of finding more survivors of Monday night’s capsizing.
Authorities have said at least 14 people survived, some by jumping from the ship during the early moments and swimming or drifting ashore. Three survivors were pulled by divers from air pockets inside the overturned hull Tuesday after rescuers heard yells for help coming from inside.
The sudden overturning of the ship is on track to become the country’s deadliest maritime disaster in seven decades, and Chinese authorities have began a high-profile response while controlling media coverage.
Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s No. 2 political leader, traveled to the disaster site in the Hubei province county of Jianli where he urged “allout” 24/7 efforts.
But the vast majority of the people onboard remained missing today. Many were older people taking in the scenic vistas of the Yangtze on a cruise from Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing.
State media originally said there were 458 people onboard but revised that figure to 456 Wednesday. CCTV said most of the passengers were 50 to 80 years old.
The Eastern Star was 251 feet long and 36 feet wide, and could carry up to 534 people, CCTV reported. It is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corp., which focuses on tourism routes in the popular Three Gorges river canyon region. The company could not be reached for comment.
Records from a maritime agency show the capsized ship was cited for safety violations two years ago. Authorities in Nanjing held the ship and five other Yangtze cruise vessels after it found them violating standards during a safety inspection campaign in 2013, according to a report on the city’s Maritime Safety website. It didn’t specify the Eastern Star’s violations.
The shallow-draft boat, which was not designed to withstand the type of heavy winds that an oceangoing vessel can, overturned in what Chinese weather authorities have called a cyclone with winds of up to 80 mph.
“The river ships tend to have a lower standard on wind resistance and wave resistance than ocean ships,” Zhong Shoudao, president of the Chongqing Boat Design Institute, said at a news conference along with weather and Transportation Ministry officials. “Under the special circumstance of cyclone, the pressure on the one side of the boat went beyond the standard it was designed for, resulting in the overturning of the boat.
“The boat had life jackets and lifeboats, but due to the sudden capsizing, there was not enough time for people to put on life jackets or for the signals to be sent out.”
The navy contingent of 13 divers who searched the boat Tuesday was expanded Wednesday to 202, including 45 from civilian rescue services. They were working in shifts virtually around the clock as part of a last-ditch attempt to find anyone alive.
The rescue and salvage efforts were being run from a barge tethered a few miles upstream of the wreckage.
Transport Ministry spokesman Xu Chengguang said divers would search the ship for as long as possible.
“Until all hope is lost and more accurate information becomes available, we will not give up on our final efforts,” Xu said. “Although I know that our colleagues at the scene are facing a great many difficulties.”
The survivors have included the ship’s captain and chief engineer, both of whom were taken into police custody.
Some relatives have questioned whether everything was done to ensure the safety of the passengers and have demanded help from officials in Nanjing and Shanghai in unruly scenes that have drawn a heavy police response.