Death toll from disaster rises
JIANLI, China — The death toll from a Chinese cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River climbed to 97 today as authorities righted the vessel and turned their efforts to recovering bodies still on board amid anger from families.
The rescue mission has become an operation to recover hundreds of bodies from the ship, which was carrying 456 people when it overturned in a freak tornado Monday night.
Only 14 survivors have been found, including the captain.
Frustration over the lack of information has grown among families of the missing. Seventy-year-old Xia Yunchen burst into a room where officials had just finished a media conference, screaming and yelling and demanding answers.
“Is it necessary to treat the common people, one by one, as if you are facing some kind of formidable foe?” said Xia, whose sister and brother-in-law were on board the Eastern Star.
Relatives have asked the government to release the names of survivors and the confirmed deaths, and questioned why most of those rescued were crew members.
Rescuers, many from the military, worked through the night to right the ship. Pictures on state television showed the ship sitting upright in the water. Large dents and gashes scarred its blue roof.
Most of the four-deck ship remains under water, sitting on the river bed.
More than 200 divers have groped through murky water after cutting through the hull, searching every cabin on board but have found no more survivors.
reuTerS