News & Promotions

What's going on in your world?

You are here: Home / Featured / Hundreds Missing as Cruise Ship Capsizes in China

Hundreds Missing as Cruise Ship Capsizes in China

By

Six people were rescued from inside a cruise ship that capsized in a storm on China‘s Yangtze River with hundreds more aboard, state broadcaster CCTV reported. At least 12 others survived, including the captain and chief engineer, while five were killed during a cruise late Monday from Nanjing to Chongqing, reported CCTV. At least 458 people were aboard the ship, most of them elderly.

Search teams heard people calling out from within the partially submerged ship, CCTV reported. Video showed one of the rescuers who had climbed on the upside-down hull tapping a hammer and listening for a response.

A man grieves for his missing parents next to his aunt outside a travel agency which was involved in organizing a Yangtze River cruise, in Shanghai, China, June 2, 2015. A small cruise ship sank overnight during a storm, state media said.

Chinatopix via AP
A man grieves for his missing parents next to his aunt outside a travel agency which was involved in organizing a Yangtze River cruise, in Shanghai, China, June 2, 2015. A small cruise ship sank overnight during a storm, state media said. 

CCTV said the captain and chief engineer were in police custody. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted both as saying the sink sank quickly after it was caught in a cyclone.

CCTV reported that 6 inches of rain had fallen over the last 24 hours, while local media said winds reached 80 mph at the time of the capsizing.

More than 3,000 people were involved in the search efforts as divers and rescuers searched the waters.

The Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corp., which CCTV reported owns the ship, could not be reached for comment.

Rescue workers stand on the capsized ship, center, on the Yangtze River in central Chinas Hubei province June 2, 2015. The small cruise ship sank overnight in Chinas Yangtze River during a storm, leaving nearly 450 people missing, state media said.

Chinatopix via AP
Rescue workers stand on the capsized ship, center, on the Yangtze River in central China’s Hubei province June 2, 2015. The small cruise ship sank overnight in China’s Yangtze River during a storm, leaving nearly 450 people missing, state media said.

Source: ABC News Hundreds Missing as Cruise Ship Capsizes in China | The Associated Press contributed to this story.