Efforts to rescue more than 400 people hampered by stormy weather in China's Hubei province
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Eighteen people have died, fourteen have been rescued and around 400 remain missing after a passenger ship carrying 456 people capsized near Jianli on the Yangtze River in China’s Hubei province on 1 June.
Eastern Star, which departed from Nanjing on 28 May, was bound for China’s Chongqing municipality when it overturned after being caught up in a cyclone with winds of up to 80mph in Jianli shortly after 9pm local time. According to the ship’s captain and chief engineer, who survived and are currently being held in police custody, the vessel overturned ‘within one or two minutes’.
According to the Ministry of Transport the 76.5m Eastern Star, which has been in service for almost 20 years, was carrying 456 people including 405 passengers, 46 crew and five tour guides. Most of the passengers were from Shanghai and the province of Jiangsu and the majority were aged over 50.
President Xi Jinping dispatched a State Council work team to the site to guide the search and rescue work, and now a team of 4,600 rescuers, including police, fire fighters and soldiers from the PLA Navy have joined rescue efforts. Two 500-ton salvage vessels were expected to arrive at the site on 3 June.
Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang, who visited the site on 2 June, has asked rescuers to ‘seize every second, battle the fatigue and challenge the extremes’ to ensure survivors are rescued as quickly as possible. Li also told the State Council to form an investigation team to look into the cause of the incident.
On 2 June, rescuers reported hearing passengers yelling from beneath the upturned vessel and divers are currently searching the ship’s compartments for survivors. The river search has expanded to 150km downstream of the site and will continue to 220km, according to the Changjiang (Yangtze) River Administration of Navigational Affairs.
However, local weather reports indicated that rain, thunderstorms and potentially strong winds are expected to continue in the region over the next 24-36 hours, making rescue efforts more challenging.
“We will do everything we can to rescue everyone trapped in there, no matter whether they’re still alive or not, and we will treat them as our own families,” said Chen Shoumin, Hubei military region commander, speaking at a live news conference shown by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
It is thought that his could be the worst Chinese shipping disaster in seven decades.