CHINA TOPIX

04/16/2024 12:29:07 am

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Ship Sinks In China’s Yangtze River, More Than 450 People Missing; What Caused Ship To Sink?

Rescue workers conduct a search in the Yangtze river after a ship carrying 458 people sank on Monday night.

(Photo : Reuters) Rescue workers conduct a search in the Yangtze river after a ship carrying 458 people sank on Monday night.

A cruise ship with 458 passengers sank around 9:28 p.m. Monday after passing a storm in the Yangtze River in southern China. While 10 people were rescued, one person was killed and nearly 450 remain missing, most of senior age, according to state media Tuesday.

Rescue efforts continue but are hampered by low visibility brought by fog, reported CCTV.

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The Eastern Star, owned by the Chonqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, came from Nanjing and was headed upstream toward Chongqing when it went down.

The boat's captain and chief engineer were both rescued. Xinhua News Agency quoted the pair as saying the four-level Eastern Star sank within minutes after getting caught up in the cyclone.

The ship had 406 passengers, all Chinese, 47 crew members, and five travel agency employees on board when it sank. Most of the passengers on board were aged 50 to 80 years old.

By Tuesday morning, more than 30 people were reported to have been rescued, according to China Daily. In a CCTV video footage, the river's water looked calm as personnel wearing orange vests assembled on shore.

Of the survivors, seven were able to swim ashore and tell authorities of the incident, reported TIME.

Twelve hours after the sinking, search teams still continue with search efforts. According to CCTV, they reportedly heard sounds coming from the Eastern Star, which is now partially submerged. However, it remains unclear if the sounds are of the missing.

Taking part in the rescue operations are more than 50 boats, 150 ships, and 3,000 people, including 2,100 soldiers and policemen and 1,000 civilians. Submersible craft were deployed as well to join the search.

The small ship went down in the waterway section of Damazhou, with the river measured about 50 feet deep, according to the Associated Press.

The Yangtze, the river where the ship sank, is considered the world's third longest.

Meanwhile, twenty-four hours since the ship capsized, six inches of rain had already befallen the region, CCTV reported.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is already headed to the site of the sinking, while President Xi Jinping has issued an order for a State Council work team to hurry on to the site and assist in rescue work.

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