Yangtze ferry sinks with 23 feared dead
A passenger ferry sank in the Yangtze early yesterday after it collided with a cargo ship in heavy fog. Xinhua said 23 passengers were either killed or missing.
Twelve people were rescued after the accident just before 8am yesterday near Fuling, in the western municipal city of Chongqing.
The agency said the Fuzhou No 10 passenger ferry, which was carrying 35 passengers, was travelling downstream when it collided with the Jianglong No 806 cargo ship. The ferry was carrying mostly students and farmers. The crews of both boats have been detained for questioning.
Local media reports said earlier that the ferry had been carrying about 80 passengers.
The report said the mayor of Chongqing Municipal City, Wang Hongju, and deputy mayor Wu Jianong, were overseeing rescue efforts at the scene.
Zhang Yi, a doctor at the Lingshi Hospital, said he had admitted nine survivors, all in stable condition.
'Their injuries are not life threatening,' Dr Zhang said.
A staff member at the Central Hospital of Fuling city said the hospital had admitted only one accident survivor.
The collision occurred more than 500km upstream from Yichang, the site of the Three Gorges dam. Fuling was in the area of the massive Three Gorges dam reservoir, which was formed early this month after the sluice gates of the dam were closed.
Last December, a passenger ferry sank after colliding with a barge in the section of the river between Changshou and Jiangnan. Only seven of the 47 people on board survived.
Navigation was suspended more than two months ago and only resumed after a five-level ship lock was put into service early this week.
Officials have said one reason behind the construction of the Three Gorges Dam was to improve navigation of the Yangtze.
