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Yangtze cruise ship sinkingi

The Eastern Star cruise ship, carrying 405 passengers along with 51 crew members and tour guides, was en route from Nanjing to Chongqing when it capsized on June 1 in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River. Extreme weather hit the area around the time of the accident, officials said. China mounted a large-scale rescue effort in the wake of one of the country's worst maritime disasters.

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A meeting between more than 100 relatives of victims of the Yangtze River ship disaster and local officials ended in chaos after the families' requests regarding funeral arrangements were rejected.

Powerful currents, poor visibility and low water temperature were among the difficulties and dangers facing rescue divers who continued to search for survivors and bodies two days after the Eastern Star cruise ship capsized on the Yangtze River.

A gag order was imposed on many mainland journalists over one of the country's worst maritime disasters, while members of the foreign media were taken on an official tour of the accident scene but many sites were kept off limits to them.

The Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, was carrying more than 450 passengers and crew when it capsized in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in Hubei province on Monday night.

Families of the Shanghai tourists missing since their ship capsized in the Yangtze River expressed outrage last night over what they said was the city government's failure to offer any response to the tragedy.

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People's Liberation Army launches massive rescue operation involving 180 divers after vessel capsizes during stormy weather, including what the captain described as a tornado