Search for missing assisted by robot

A robot being used in recovery operations found the body of a female on Tuesday at the site of a boating accident in the Lizhou district of Guangyuan, Sichuan province, bringing the number of confirmed dead to three.

"The woman is in a cream-colored T-shirt and black trousers. Her identity is yet to be determined," said Li Jijun, spokesman for the Lizhou District Party Committee.

The robot dived more than 65 meters in White Dragon Lake, searching the interior of the sunken boat for the missing. It also prepared ropes to lift the boat, Li said.

The pleasure boat Double Dragon was designed to carry 40 people. It had 18 people on board when it sank on Saturday. Three bodies have been recovered and 12 people remain missing. Three passengers survived.

Among the 18 were the boat's owner, Zhou Piqiang, 49; his 43-year-old wife and 4-year-old son. The 15 passengers on the boat were from six families, five of which included husbands, wives and children.

Some of the photos taken by passengers with cellphones before the sudden storm that sank the boat went viral, prompting sympathy from netizens.

A source from the Guangyuan maritime affairs bureau said that the boat's owner, Zhou, had operated boat excursions since the 1990s, and his wife was a qualified sailor.

Extreme weather may be to blame for the accident. The Guangyuan weather bureau said wind with a speed of 63 kilometers per hour lashed the lake at the time of the incident.

According to Wang Mingxing, one of the three survivors, some people were wearing life jackets at first, but they took them off later because it was too hot.

Wang grabbed a jacket when the boat started sinking.