Chinese fisherman describes how he helped rescue survivor of cruise ship disaster
Wang Shengcai heard cry for help as he was checking his boat by the Yangtze River
A fisherman has described how he found and helped rescue a survivor of the cruise ship disaster on the Yangtze River.
Wang Shengcai said a TV weather forecast had warned him just before he went to bed on Monday night that there would be heavy rain and strong winds.
He decided to get up at 4am as it was his habit to check his boat after a storm, the news website Thepaper.cn reported.
He found it was full of rainwater, but was alerted by a call in the night.
“I was about to walk back home when I heard someone shouting ‘help’ and I hurriedly used my torch to search around and there I saw a man in a flowery-pattern shirt and a pair of black shorts with a lifebelt around his neck,” said Wang.
“The man had already crawled to the bank and when he saw me he walked towards me staggering, shouting ‘Big trouble, the ship’s overturned’ in a trembling voice because he had been soaked in the water for a long time,” the fisherman said. The Eastern Star capsized at about 9.30pm during the storm on Monday night and the survivor had drifted down the river for several hours.
Wang, 57, helped the man to his home and gave him dry clothes.
The survivor was Yu Zhengwei, a member of staff who worked in a snack shop on the cruise ship, according to the report.
Wang said it took him and others dozens of attempts to get through to a police station to call for help because the phone signal was so poor.
Yu also managed to phone to tell his family he was safe, the report said.
“He was smoking repeatedly and after he finished the third cigarette, he suddenly remembered his wife was still on board the ship and he rushed to the river bank to shout for his wife. He didn’t know that the accident site was 20 km from the fishing village where we live,” Wang was quoted as saying.
“I later learned that June 3 was Yu’s 44th birthday so I wished him peace and that he remain safe,” he said.
