China / Society

Hundreds remain missing

By ZHAO HUANXIN and ZHAO YINAN in Jianli, Hubei and PENG YINING in Beijing (China Daily/chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2015-06-03 04:55

The accident: Cruise ship capsizes during sudden severe storm on Yangtze River

The rescue: 14 people have been saved, 424 are still missing and 18 confirmed dead

What's next: Investigation being launched into the cause of the river's worst disaster

Latest news: (For more latest news, please click here)

Weather forecast for the next two days

The wreck site will experience light rain and winds of between 28 km/h and 50 km/h until tomorrow morning. Weather will turn cloudy but improve in the afternoon. Friday will be sunny but fog is expected, with visibility reduced to between 500 and 1,000 meters.

Bad weather may hamper rescue efforts

More than 200 divers are searching the missings underwater while some others are on standby ashore, Ministry of Transport said.

Rainfalls are expected at the site today and precautions should be taken, according to the national observatory.

Major developments from last night to this morning

1. Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday paid tribute to those killed in the worst recorded ship disaster on the Yangtze River. Li came to the rescue site Wednesday morning in heavy rain and bowed to the bodies of the deceased.

2. Water level in Yangtze River continues to fall as the Three Gorges Dam reduces its discharge, leaving more of the ship above water.

3. By 9:30 am Wednesday, 14 are confirmed dead, 14 have been found alive and 428 passengers remain missing after the worst recorded ship disaster on the Yangtze River.

4. Two bodies were found on 3:49 am and 4:07 am on Wednesday. The search and rescue operations continued overnight.

5. Search teams have cut open holes on the overturned hull.

6. Over 110 vessels have been deployed to rescue passengers trapped inside the sunken ship, says the Ministry of Transport. More than 180 divers are carrying out underwater search and Chinese Air Force has dispatched five helicopters, CCTV reports.

7. A monitor camera captured the sunken Eastern Star boat sailing through rains and lightning Monday evening, 30 minutes before it capsized.

8. "We will drop anchor behind you," crew of the capsized cruise ship Eastern Star said in a radio talk to a steamboat behind it, Chutian Metropolis Daily reported Tuesday night via its Sina Weibo account, citing captain of the steamboat.

Hundreds remain missing

Click the photo for graphics in higher resolution.

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