China Rights Capsized Ship; Death Toll Jumps to 331

Chinese state media say the death toll in the Eastern Star capsizing has risen to 331.

Disaster teams found hundreds more bodies Friday night and into Saturday morning after pulling the overturned river cruise boat upright with cranes and gradually raising it up from the gray currents of the Yangtze River.

State broadcaster CCTV gave the new death toll, which was revised downward from an earlier report of 345. Fourteen people were rescued, so that left about 100 still missing. Rescuers had said earlier that there was no chance of finding anyone else alive.

The ship went down in severe weather late Monday. Beijing had promised an all-out effort to find survivors, but that failed to satisfy many relatives of the missing passengers, who were not happy with a lack of information from authorities.

Scores of family members broke through a police barricade late Wednesday as they marched toward the accident site, demanding information on missing relatives.

Chinese authorities, who have tightly controlled information on the rescue effort, have promised to allow the relatives to visit the site.

Winds, rain hamper rescue

The recovery effort has been complicated by heavy winds and rain, as well as strong currents that have pushed the capsized, shallow-draft vessel nearly three kilometers downstream from the accident site.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is coordinating recovery efforts at the disaster site — the scene of nearly 50 rescue vessels, 3,000 troops and nearly 200 divers.

The 77-meter-long vessel overturned within minutes of being hit by what Chinese media describe as a tornado. The ship's captain and chief engineer, who survived the sinking, are being questioned by police.

Earlier in the week, transport spokesperson Zhong Shoudao said the ship was designed to navigate inland waterways.

"The river ships tend to have a lower standard on wind resistance and wave resistance than ocean ships,'' Zhong said. "If the force of the blowing wind was more than the ship could withstand, then it would have capsized."

CCTV reported that the ship is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, which runs river tours of the fabled Three Gorges dam.

It said the vessel was capable of holding up to 534 people.

Fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/content/china-rights-capsized-ship-death-toll-soars/2808562.html