Ship’s captain and chief engineer detained by police, as rescuers find five bodies in search for survivors

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

More than 400 people are missing after a Chinese passenger boat sank on the Yangtze river after being hit by what the captain described as a cyclone.

Five bodies have so far been recovered from the the Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, vessel, which was carrying 458 people on a river cruise when it went down at around 9.30pm on Monday night not far from the city of Jingzhou in Hubei province.

It appeared that about 18 people were known to have survived, with heavy rain and strong winds hindering the work of emergency teams.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The ship lies overturned in the Yangtze. Photograph: Xinhua/REX Shutterstock

A further three bodies were recovered 30 miles from the wreck, state media reported, in an indication of the speed of the water and the scale of the challenge facing recovery teams.

Television footage from the wreck showed rescuers in orange life vests climbing on the upside-down hull, with one of them lying down tapping a hammer and listening for a response, then gesturing downward.



Rescuers pulled six people to safety after hearing cries for help from inside the capsized vessel and at least 12 others swam to shore.

No distress call was sent by the four-level ship. One survivor, non-swimmer Zhang Hui, told Xinhua, China’s official news agency, he had clung to debris for 10 hours before being rescued. He said the ship began to tilt after heavy rain seeped in through windows and began soaking cabins.

Police at the scene appeared to be expecting many fatalities.



Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) China bracing for worst: police in Jianli tell us 20 vehicles from funeral homes are waiting by wreckage of sunken Yangtze cruise ship

Eastern Star had been travelling from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, to the south-western city of Chongqing when the incident happened.

Xinhua said the ship’s captain and chief engineer were among the survivors, and both were detained by police.

The overturned ship drifted almost two miles downstream before coming to rest close to the river shore, where choppy waters made the rescue difficult. On Tuesday morning, its wreckage was around 15 metres beneath the surface.



China’s prime minister, Li Keqiang, headed to the scene of the disaster to lead the rescue effort.

Rescuers on the overturned ship Photograph: Xinhua /Landov / Barcroft Media

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A survivor is brought off the Eastern Star. Photograph: Xinhua/REX Shutterstock

Broadcaster CCTV reported that 6 inches (150 millimeters) of rain had fallen in the region over the past 24 hours. Local media reported winds reached 80 mph (130 kph) during the accident.

China’s Meteorological Administration said a force 12 cyclone struck the area when the ship went down.



China Xinhua News (@XHNews) Cyclone stronger than 12 scale happened when ship capsized in #Yangtze River: China's Meteorological Admistration pic.twitter.com/gdeWKfNG1G

Many of the ship’s passengers started out in Shanghai, taking a bus to Nanjing for the departure on the eight-day cruise to Chongqing. The Yangtze is the world’s third-longest river and is a popular cruise route, especially through the Three Gorges river canyon region.

Chinese cruise ship sinks in Yangtze river – in pictures Read more

Most were aged between 50 and 80, and were travelling with Shanghai agency Xiehe Travel. The tour agency’s offices remained closed on Tuesday, as relatives of the missing gathered outside.



Many complained about the lack of information about the accident. “I knew of the accident around six o’clock this morning through the news and then came here at seven o’clock. We have been waiting here but we haven’t heard any information,” said one man.

Reports said there were 406 passengers, five travel agency employees and 47 crew members on the ship.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Family members of passengers on the Eastern Star/ Photograph: Imaginechina/REX Shutterstock

A group of about a dozen retirees from a Shanghai bus company were on the trip, said a woman who identified herself only by her surname, Chen. Among them, she said, were her elder sister and her elder sister’s husband, both 60, and their granddaughter, 6.

“This group has traveled together a lot, but only on short trips. This is the first time they travelled for a long trip,” she told the Associated Press.

Relatives also gathered in the eastern city of Nanjing, from where the boat departed, and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing which was the final destination.



Many complained about the lack of information about the accident. “I knew of the accident around six o’clock this morning through the news and then came here at seven o’clock. We have been waiting here but we haven’t heard any information,” said a man, who also gave his surname as Chen.

His sister, 69, and brother-in-law were both passengers.

A 64-year-old man surnamed Zhang said he spoke to his wife on the boat Monday evening hours before the accident, and she told him about poor weather and heavy rain.



“I usually call her twice a day. But today, after I heard the news... the phone call never got through.”

“No one has come out to give us any information. Even Li Keqiang is already at the site. But here, the travel agency should at least offer us some consolation.”



Additional reporting by Luna Lin

