In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, rescuers try to carry a victim's body at the site of the overturned ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province Wednesday, June 3, 2015.Xiao Yijiu/The Associated Press
Chinese leadership vowed a national investigation into a cruise ship that capsized with hundreds aboard, as the second day of a massive rescue effort succeeded in pulling out more bodies, but no more survivors.
Transportation officials in the region near the ship's location in the Yangtze River on Wednesday began cutting into the hull of the ship to gain better entry, after more than 100 divers were used to scour the inside of the inundated ship. Authorities expanded their search area to 220 kilometres downstream, in hopes of finding passengers who may have floated away in the fast-flowing waters.
Chinese media reported that the captain of the cruise ship, called the Eastern Star, was preparing to drop anchor before the ship toppled over in a severe storm. Other ship captains had already halted their movements, and government had warned local villagers of impending bad weather. China's Premier Li Keqiang promised the country's State Council would launch an investigation. The ship's captain and chief engineer remain in police custody, although they have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
But all attention remained trained on the rescue effort, as crews worked through the night through heavy rain and wind in an effort to save any further survivors. Official Chinese media called it the worst disaster in Yangtze River history.
Rescuers made several dramatic rescues Tuesday, but Wednesday brought little save a rising body count, which by early afternoon stood at 18. So far, 14 have been found alive; many of those escaped while the ship was sinking, and used life jackets to float to safety in the stormy night.
After airing footage of crews extracting the dead, Chinese state media on Wednesday halted live broadcasts from the Eastern Star, the 76-metre vessel that sits upside down near the shores of the Yangtze River after it encountered a violent storm. Foreign journalists were barred from approaching operational areas or speaking with survivors. Chinese journalists not working for the two central state organizations — CCTV and Xinhua — were also ordered to stay clear.
Authorities have said the vessel had 456 on board — a slight revision from the 458 initially reported on the ship. Most were elderly tourists sailing from Nanjing to Chongqing.
China has mounted an extraordinary response that includes some 4,600 people, including hundreds of divers and Mr. Li, the Premier, who came to the scene of the stricken vessel Tuesday. But stories from those who escaped suggested a lightning-speed disaster that left little time to seek safety as the ship fell on its side.
The storm, with winds that reached above 117 kph, was powerful enough to also wreck nearby houses. The captain and chief engineer, who were among those rescued from the ship, reported encountering a tornado that toppled the boat within a minute or two.
Nearby residents said they had been warned by the government that a powerful storm was approaching, raising questions over why the Eastern Star continued to ply the Yangtze. "Those who operate the boats have expertise about this, but the weather was unusually bad for these parts," Zou Luwang, a nearby villager, told Reuters.
Chinese law does not bar ships from sailing in inclement weather at night. But marine authorities do have the power to issue weather-related sailing bans, which would mean "all ships would not be allowed to sail anymore," said Mr. Yao, a Shanghai-based expert in ship manufacturing who gave only his surname.
"But if no sailing ban has been issued, the captain has the right to decide whether to go."
It's not clear what restrictions authorities applied to marine traffic Monday night. Before the Eastern Star sank, its captain sent out a radio broadcast saying, "we will drop anchor," a crew member from another vessel told the Chutian Metropolis Daily.
Other ships, however, had already put down anchor by that time.
"The visibility was terrible, like being in fog, and the rain was interfering with the radar so you couldn't make anything out," Li Yongjun, the captain of a cargo ship that stopped in waters near the Eastern Star, told the state-run Xinhua news agency.
Mr. Li said he heard someone in the water calling for help on Monday night, roughly 30 minutes after the Eastern Star reportedly capsized.
But, he said, "the rain was just too heavy, there was no way to mount a rescue, so I shouted over, 'swim to the bank!'"
Nathan VanderKlippe