China's cruise ship disaster: Hundreds still missing
A ship with more than 450 people on board has sunk in China's Yangtze River during a heavy storm. Chinese authorities are being criticized for their slow-paced rescue operation, as a number of people are feared dead.
From Nanjing to Chongqing
The "Eastern Star" cruise ship sank overnight on Monday, June 1, near Jianli in China's Hubei province, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Most of the passengers were senior citizens aged between 50 and 80 traveling from the eastern city of Nanjing to Chongqing in the southwest.
Rescue efforts underway
Officials say that only 12 people have so far been rescued. The ship was not overloaded and had sufficient life jackets for all passengers, the Chinese Ministry of Transport said. The vessel reportedly sent no emergency signal during the storm.
Better safety measures
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Hubei Province to oversee rescue work. The government has also dispatched more than 1,000 armed police officers to the scene. President Xi Jinping has called for "all-out rescue efforts" and better safety measures.
Slow response?
Analysts say the scale of disaster is unprecedented in China. At the same time, some claim rescue efforts were initially quite slow. Chinese officials deny the claims, but it extremely difficult to verify them since the government is not allowing much information to come out from the scene. Local journalists are also not allowed to get close to the disaster site.
Captain 'detained'
The captain of the ship was rescued after more than an hour in the water. He's currently in police custody, according to local reports. "Why did the captain leave the ship while the passengers were still missing?" Hunag Yan, whose father and husband were on the boat, told the Associated Press news agency. She also demanded that the government release the name list "to see who was on the boat."
Relatives in panic
Relatives of the passengers gathered outside a travel agency in Shanghai which had booked many of the trips. They then went to a local government office to inquire about the disaster and the people on board the "Eastern Star."
The cruise ship
Built in 1994, the vessel owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation was used to carry out tours to the scenic Three Gorges river canyon area along China's Yangtze River. It had the capacity to carry more than 500 passengers.