Rescuers lift a survivor from the capsized cruise ship. So far only 14 people have been found alive. Photo / AP
Rescuers lift a survivor from the capsized cruise ship. So far only 14 people have been found alive. Photo / AP
Most of 456 on Yangtze River cruiser unaccounted for as survivor tells of lucky escape.
Hopes dimmed for rescuing more than 400 people still trapped in a capsized river cruise ship that overturned in stormy weather, as hundreds of rescuers searched the Yangtze River site in what could become the deadliest Chinese maritime accident in decades.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that 18 bodies had been pulled from the boat, which was floating with a sliver of its hull jutting from the grey river water about 36 hours after it capsized. A total of 14 people have been rescued, but the vast majority of the 456 people on board, many of them elderly tourists, were unaccounted for.
The shallow-draft, multi-decked Eastern Star was travelling upstream early on Tuesday from the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it overturned in China's Hubei Province in what state media reported as a cyclone with winds of up to 130km/h.
State media reported that rescuers heard people yelling for help within the overturned hull, and divers rescued a 65-year-old woman and, later, two men who had been trapped.
Chinese soldiers stand as rescuers conduct a search and rescue operation on the capsized ship on the Yangtze River. Photo / AP
CCTV said more people had been found and were being rescued, but did not say whether they were still inside the overturned hull.
It is not known if any sounds were heard yesterday. CCTV said rescuers would possibly support the ship with a giant crane while they cut into portions of the hull.
Thirteen navy divers searched the boat on Tuesday, and military authorities said an additional 170 would vastly expand the pace of those efforts.
Access to the site was blocked by police and paramilitary troops stationed along the Yangtze River embankment. At least two ambulances were seeing leaving the area with their lights on and sirens blaring.
Tour guide Zhang Hui said in an interview with the state-run Xinhua News Agency from his hospital bed that he grabbed a life jacket with seconds to spare as the ship listed in the storm, sending bottles rolling off tables and suddenly turned all the way over.
Zhang, 43, said he drifted in the Yangtze all night despite not being able to swim, reaching shore as dawn approached.
"The raindrops hitting my face felt like hailstones. 'Just hang in there a little longer,' I told myself."
He saw several people around him drifting and calling for help in the dark waters. "I was submerged by one wave after another, and I drank a lot of water," he said.
Chinese paramilitary policemen carry bags of food to distribute to rescuers near the capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River. Photo / AP
At one point, another ship passed by, but its crew didn't see him, he said.
He used tree branches to row his way to shore.
Some survivors swam ashore, but others were rescued after search teams climbed on the upside-down hull. The 65-year-old woman was rescued by divers who took an extra breathing apparatus up into the bowels of the ship and spent about five minutes teaching her how to use it before bringing her out to safety.
Xinhua said initial investigations had established that the ship was not overloaded and that it carried enough life jackets.
China's weather bureau said a small but intense tornado, lasting only about 15 or 20 minutes, swept across the river as the boat passed.
"There were life vests in prominent positions in every room, and the boat was open style," Zhang said, according to Xinhua. "If it hadn't capsized so fast, more people would have been saved."
Ship positioning data showed the vessel had changed direction about 10 minutes before capsizing, raising questions about whether that manoeuvre had contributed to the disaster.
Rescuers lift a survivor from the capsized cruise ship. So far only 14 people have been found alive. Photo / AP
The Yangtze River
Name: The Chinese name for the Yangtze translates as "long river", and at 6300km it is China's longest and the world's third-longest, behind the Nile and the Amazon. It flows west to east from the glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau to the financial hub of Shanghai and out to the East China Sea.
History: For centuries, the Yangtze was the key route for transporting goods in China. Nowadays, it is still a busy river that contributes to the economy of the cities and villages within its reaches, including five of China's largest cities.
Tourism: The Yangtze is a top tourist attraction, and boats offer mostly multi-day trips to and from Chongqing, with spectacular views and short stops at historical and cultural sites, such as the Three Gorges Dam and Fengdu Ghost Town. Tourists can also walk within the ancient city of Jingzhou. There is the scenic canyon Tiger Leaping Gorge, about 385km from the Tibetan border. It is named for a tiger that is said to have escaped humans by leaping across the river.
