JIANLI, China : Scores of divers searched a capsized ship in the Yangtze River today for more than 400 missing people, many of them elderly tourists, as the death toll in what could be China’s worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years doubled to 14. State television carried pictures of rescuers, some standing on the upturned hull of the stricken Eastern Star cruise ship, working through the night. So far their efforts have yielded few successes, with only 14 people found alive. Among the few rescued was an elderly woman who had been trapped in an air pocket in the ship, which capsized during a freak tornado on the river on Monday night. The Yangtze disaster could have a higher death toll than the 304 people killed when a ferry sank in South Koreain April 2014. Most of those killed in that incident were children on a school trip. The Yangtze search area has been expanded up to 220 km downstream, state television said, suggesting that many bodies could have been swept far away from where the ship foundered in the rain-swollen river. Relatives, angry at what they perceive as a lack of information, have scuffled with officials in Shanghai. All of the passengers on board had booked their trips through a Shanghai-based travel agency. Early on Wednesday, about two dozen affected family members, some crying and others shouting “help us”, marched down streets in central Shanghai towards the main government office watched by a heavy police presence. A passenger manifest carried by state media showed those on board the Eastern Star ranged in age from three to more than 80. There were 456 people on board when the ship capsized. FREAK TORNADO
Premier Li Keqiang, who rushed to the scene to oversee rescue efforts, called for “regular and transparent updates” on the rescue and investigation, and said authorities must ensure adequate personnel and funding. China’s weather bureau said a tornado had buffeted the area where the ship was cruising, a freak occurrence in a country where twisters can happen but are uncommon. The ship’s captain and the chief engineer, who were among the few to be rescued, have been detained by police for questioning. An initial investigation found the ship was not overloaded and had enough life vests for its passengers. The ship overturned “within one or two minutes”, Xinhua news agency quoted the captain as saying. He was dragged out of the water near a pier just before midnight on Monday. The Eastern Star, which had the capacity to carry more than 500 people, was heading to the southwestern city of Chongqing from Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. It sank in the Jianli section of the Yangtze. Accidents of this magnitude are uncommon in China, where major rivers are used for tours and cruises. State media said it was the worst recorded ship disaster on the Yangtze River. A tug sank on the Yangtze while undergoing sea trials in January, killing 22 of the 25 people on board. In 1948, the steamship Kiangya blew up on the Huangpu river, killing more than 1,000 people. The Eastern Star is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, which runs tours along the Three Gorges section of the Yangtze. (AGENCIES)
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