65 dead in capsized Chinese ship, with more than 370 missing

Rescuers cut three holes into the overturned hull of a river cruise ship in unsuccessful attempts to find more survivors Thursday as the death toll in the Yangtze River disaster reached 65. More than 370 people remain missing and are feared dead.

Medical workers, in white, stand as rescuers work on the capsized ship, center, on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province Thursday, June 4, 2015. Rescuers cut into the upside-down hull of the river cruise ship and pulled out drowned passengers early Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Medical workers, in white, stand as rescuers work on the capsized ship, center, on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province Thursday, June 4, 2015. Rescuers cut into the upside-down hull of the river cruise ship and pulled out drowned passengers early Thursday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said rescuers stabilised the ship with cranes and then cut into sections of the hull, which jutted above the river's gray currents, to check for survivors before welding the sections back to the hull to preserve the ship's buoyancy and balance.

So far, authorities say at least 14 people survived Monday night's sudden capsizing in a severe storm, some by jumping from the ship during the early moments and swimming or drifting ashore. Three of them were pulled by divers from air pockets inside the overturned hull Tuesday after rescuers heard yells for help coming from inside.

The lack of further survivors detected when the hull sections were opened Thursday seemed to show there was no more chance of finding anyone alive in the boat, although Chinese officials have not yet declared the search over at the accident site at the Hubei Province county of Jianli.

Meanwhile, more than 200 divers were working underwater in three shifts to search the ship's cabins one by one, the broadcaster said. Rescuers pulled out 39 drowned passengers Thursday, bringing the toll to 65.

With 65 dead and more than 370 people still missing, the Eastern Star disaster could become China's deadliest since the sinking of the SS Kiangya off Shanghai in 1948, which is believed to have killed anywhere from 2,750 to nearly 4,000 people.
 

AP
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