https://www.scmp.com/rss/319363/feed 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. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Mainland authorities yesterday corrected the death toll from the Yangtze cruise ship disaster, saying there was only 12 survivors, not 14, after the ship capsized almost two weeks ago. The rescuers confirmed that only 12 people survived the tragedy, and that 454 people, not 456, were on board when the Eastern Star rolled over in the Jianli section of the river on June 1, China Central Television said. They told the state broadcaster that rescuers from different divisions had counted two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1821263/chinese-investigators-revise-ferry-death-toll-14-survivors-12?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1821263/chinese-investigators-revise-ferry-death-toll-14-survivors-12?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2015 17:36:12 +0000 China has assembled a 60-strong team to probe last week’s river cruise ship sinking following orders from President Xi Jinping to find the cause of the country’s worst maritime disaster in nearly seven decades. Just 14 people survived the capsizing of the Eastern Star on the evening of June 1 amid heavy rain and wind as it was carrying 456 people, many of them elderly tourists, on a cruise to the Yangtze River port of Chongqing. The authorities have attributed the sinking to a freak storm that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1819591/team-experts-investigate-yangtze-cruise-ship-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1819591/team-experts-investigate-yangtze-cruise-ship-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:14:02 +0000 Handprints on the walls of the sunken Chinese cruise ship Eastern Star are a moving testimony to the despairing final moments of the at least 432 passengers who died when the vessel capsized on the Yangtze river last week. Photographers from China Foto Press and Xinhua capture the aftermath of the tragedy in pictures from inside the righted boat. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1818315/last-memories-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1818315/last-memories-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jun 2015 04:15:45 +0000 Family members of those who died in the Eastern Star disaster and rescue workers bowed in mourning towards the battered cruise ship yesterday, the seventh day of a tragedy that has killed at least 432 passengers and left another 10 missing. In addition to a government-held ceremony, some family members of the dead performed their own rituals. On the northern bank of the Yangtze River in Yanpu village, Jianli county in Hubei province, about three dozen relatives wailed in grief under an overcast... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1818147/wails-grief-relatives-ship-disaster-victims-mourn-seventh-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1818147/wails-grief-relatives-ship-disaster-victims-mourn-seventh-day?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Jun 2015 14:45:30 +0000 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. One woman, trembling in rage, was carried from the venue after a shouting match with an official giving the update. The families, all from Nanjing in Jiangsu province, want the government to hand over the bodies and provide assistance in making funeral arrangements. They also said a memorial should be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817775/talks-ferry-victims-families-end-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817775/talks-ferry-victims-families-end-chaos?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2015 18:00:15 +0000 Relatives of passengers who were aboard the capsized Eastern Star cruise vessel have called on the central government to tell the truth about the country's deadliest ship disaster in decades and make sure that those held responsible are punished. The death toll reached 431 on Sunday after disaster-relief teams stabilised the vessel in an upright position and searched it for more bodies. "Our family is already gone. As relatives, we are still waiting for the final result of the government's... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817809/family-members-demand-transparent-probe-yangtze-ship-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817809/family-members-demand-transparent-probe-yangtze-ship-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2015 17:45:00 +0000 The death toll from the Eastern Star cruise ship disaster reached nearly 400 today, making it China’s deadliest boat disaster in nearly seven decades. More bodies from the Eastern Star were found overnight and today, bringing the death toll to 396, Hu Kaihong, the vice director-general of the press bureau of the State Council Information Office, told a news conference. Rescue teams searched for more bodies in the now-upright ship, which had capsized on the Yangtze River late on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817630/death-toll-capsized-eastern-star-china-climbs-331-search-bodies-continues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1817630/death-toll-capsized-eastern-star-china-climbs-331-search-bodies-continues?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jun 2015 04:15:15 +0000 Fences adorned with yellow ribbons floating in the breeze greeted pupils and teachers of Yusha Primary School in Jianli county, China's central Hubei province, when they arrived at school on Friday morning. "Hope the family members find their loved ones soon!" read one ribbon with words in a child's handwriting. The ribbons were tied to the fences by young well-wishers as days of rain and overcast skies finally gave way to bright sunshine on Friday. The impromptu monument in Rongcheng township... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1817595/hotels-all-occupied-rescuers-and-relatives-chinas-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1817595/hotels-all-occupied-rescuers-and-relatives-chinas-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:15:00 +0000 Grieving families on Friday demanded to be allowed to perform rituals this weekend for the hundreds feared dead in a capsized ship on the Yangtze River. The demands came as recovery crews lifted the top four floors of the Eastern Star from the water and started searching its cabins for more bodies. They did not find as many bodies underwater as expected with the lifting of the floors, Xinhua reported. As of 7pm, 103 bodies had been recovered, with 14 survivors, CCTV reported. In all, 456 people... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1817612/relatives-anxious-bid-final-farewell-dead-chinas-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1817612/relatives-anxious-bid-final-farewell-dead-chinas-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2015 16:00:00 +0000 The captain of the Eastern Star said he was attempting to steer into the best position to resist strong winds on the Yangtze River when a sudden surge of wind capsized the passenger ship. Zhang Shunwen told the state news agency Xinhua that a gentle to moderate breeze of between 12-28km/h was blowing from the south before the accident on Monday night. “I attempted to move the ship to leeward [downwind] and move towards north, but the wind suddenly become stronger and I lost control of the hull,”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816951/eastern-star-captain-says-ship-hit-strong-gust-and-capsized-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816951/eastern-star-captain-says-ship-hit-strong-gust-and-capsized-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jun 2015 05:00:45 +0000 Rescue teams have righted the Eastern Star cruise ship, after it capsized in stormy weather on the Yangtze River on Monday night, as relatives of the more than 300 passengers and crew still missing complained of slow progress to learn the fate of their family members. The decision to right the ship was made at about 8pm last night after President Xi Jinping - chairing a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee - ordered an increase in search efforts and "a thorough investigation" into the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816873/body-count-rises-rescuers-right-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816873/body-count-rises-rescuers-right-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 17:00:30 +0000 The Eastern Star's rapid and complete submersion in a muddy waterway has slowed search efforts, making the recovery operation more difficult than those of other major shipping disasters, experts say. Just 14 survivors have been rescued since the vessel went down on Monday night with 456 people on board. In the MV Sewol disaster in South Korea last year more than 170 of the 476 passengers and crew made it out alive. And of the 4,200 people on board the Costa Concordia, wrecked off the coast of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816836/feeling-dark-difficult-search-signs-life-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816836/feeling-dark-difficult-search-signs-life-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 16:45:30 +0000 Frustrated by days of waiting and no word about the fate of their loved ones, family members of the missing from the capsized Eastern Star cruise ship on the Yangtze River have made repeated attempts to get to the scene of the disaster. But each time some of the more than 1,000 anxious relatives of the missing have tried to get through, they have been turned back by police and paramilitary officers and told to wait at their hotels in the small county of Jianli in Hubei province. "We came all the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816857/families-try-break-silence-around-eastern-star-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816857/families-try-break-silence-around-eastern-star-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 15:45:45 +0000 Colleagues of the captain of the Eastern Star, who is at the centre of the debate over why the cruise ship went down with hundreds of lives feared lost, have described him as an experienced and professional officer who took his responsibilities seriously. Zhang Shunwen, 52, was in charge of the cruise ship on Monday night when it sank during a heavy storm in the Yangtze River. He was among the few people known to have survived of the 456 on board. His wife, Mo Bing, was the head of the service... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816276/sunken-chinese-cruise-ships-captain-was-professional-experienced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816276/sunken-chinese-cruise-ships-captain-was-professional-experienced?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 08:56:01 +0000 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... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816259/chinese-fisherman-describes-how-he-helped-rescue-survivor-cruise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816259/chinese-fisherman-describes-how-he-helped-rescue-survivor-cruise?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 04:37:04 +0000 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. More than 200 divers were involved in the search yesterday. As of 7pm yesterday, 14 survivors and 26 bodies had been pulled from the water. Ding Jianxin, a diver with the PLA Navy's East Sea Fleet, brought two bodies to the surface during his dive at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816116/eastern-star-rescue-divers-tell-being-forced-search-touch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816116/eastern-star-rescue-divers-tell-being-forced-search-touch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 19:15:30 +0000 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 Communist Party's Publicity Department issued an urgent gag order early on Tuesday morning, within 12 hours after news broke of Monday night's ferry accident on the Yangtze River. The message was quickly passed down to propaganda departments on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816115/gag-order-imposed-media-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816115/gag-order-imposed-media-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 19:15:00 +0000 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. As rescue workers continue searching for survivors, the public is seeking answers to what caused one of the mainland's worst maritime disasters. The State Council has repeatedly reassured family members it will launch a comprehensive investigation into the accident. Satellite data suggests the cruise ship made a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816118/speculation-abounds-over-cause-chinas-eastern-star-ferry-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816118/speculation-abounds-over-cause-chinas-eastern-star-ferry-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 19:15:00 +0000 The captain of a passenger ship that was near the Eastern Star when it capsized on Monday night said his vessel narrowly escaped the same fate, according to a mainland media report. The captain, identified only by his surname Li, told the Shanghai Morning Post that his passenger ship, the Jiangning, was sailing through the Jianli section of the Yangtze River at about 9.30pm on Monday, when the Eastern Star capsized. Li said the Jiangning's radar indicated "something was wrong". A storm descended... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816117/close-calls-tragedy-yangtze-river?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816117/close-calls-tragedy-yangtze-river?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 18:00:00 +0000 Rescue workers have retrieved dozens of bodies from the capsized Eastern Star cruise ship as any hope of finding more survivors fades. Fourteen people are known to have survived the sinking of the ship on Monday night during a heavy storm on the Yangtze River. Sixty-five bodies have been recovered, state media reported on Thursday. More than 370 people are missing.  Rescuers began cutting their way into the capsized Eastern Star cruise ship last night, but the work was suspended on Thursday due... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816134/hopes-fade-missing-sunken-chinese-cruise-ship-dozens-bodies-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1816134/hopes-fade-missing-sunken-chinese-cruise-ship-dozens-bodies-are?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 15:30:30 +0000 View the full-size infographic https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1815618/infographic-yangtze-river-tragedy-what-happened-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1815618/infographic-yangtze-river-tragedy-what-happened-eastern-star?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 02:15:30 +0000 Cruising China’s Yangtze River has grown increasingly popular among elderly Chinese. The cruise ships’ safety records have not been perfect even before the Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, capsized on Monday night, but many were still drawn by the tours’ relatively low costs and slow pace of travel. The vessels either operate between Nanjing in eastern Jiangsu province and the southwestern city of Chongqing, or take a shorter route between Chongqing and Hubei provinces. The cruises offer... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815586/yangtze-river-cruises-popular-among-chinas-elderly-despite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815586/yangtze-river-cruises-popular-among-chinas-elderly-despite?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2015 01:30:00 +0000 The Yangtze River accident is possibly one of the worst tornado-related disasters in modern Chinese history. The Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, carrying more than 450 people, capsized during a powerful storm in Hubei province on Monday night. A rare tornado occurred in the vicinity of the accident during the storm, the National Meteorological Information Centre said. Radar data analyses show wind speed exceeded 117km/h at the time - enough to generate waves higher than 14 metres. It remains... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815571/what-caused-chinas-eastern-star-cruise-ship-capsize-yangtze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815571/what-caused-chinas-eastern-star-cruise-ship-capsize-yangtze?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2015 16:15:45 +0000 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. About 100 people gathered at the petition office of Zhabei district after the authorities told them to wait there for any updates. One anxious relative, Ji Fumin, said he had not received any reply to inquiries about progress in the rescue operation, or what families should do at this... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815572/relatives-missing-passengers-chinese-cruise-ship-tragedy-outraged?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1815572/relatives-missing-passengers-chinese-cruise-ship-tragedy-outraged?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2015 16:15:00 +0000 More than 400 people - most of them tourists aged from 50 to 80 - remain missing after a cruise ship carrying 456 people capsized in the Yangtze River during stormy weather on Monday night. The Eastern Star was en route from the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it capsized at about 9.30pm on Monday in the Jianli section of the river in Hubei province. Watch: Search and rescue teams work through the night looking for survivors, bodies The national meteorological... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1814719/yangtze-cruise-ship-sinking-worst-maritime-disaster-chinas-modern?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1814719/yangtze-cruise-ship-sinking-worst-maritime-disaster-chinas-modern?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jun 2015 00:32:22 +0000