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| Families Wait in Vain for News as Rescue Efforts Continue on Yangtze River | Families Wait in Vain for News as Rescue Efforts Continue on Yangtze River |
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| CHANGSHA, China — Families across China anxiously awaited news about their relatives Tuesday as rescue crews, overseen by the country’s prime minister, searched for survivors from a cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River with hundreds aboard. | CHANGSHA, China — Families across China anxiously awaited news about their relatives Tuesday as rescue crews, overseen by the country’s prime minister, searched for survivors from a cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River with hundreds aboard. |
| By Tuesday afternoon, more than 18 hours after the Oriental Star capsized amid high winds and rain on Monday night, the vast majority of the 458 people on board were still missing, with Xinhua, the state-run news agency, reporting only 15 rescued. Five bodies had been recovered, the agency said. Many hundreds more were most likely still inside the overturned vessel. | |
| It appeared that the death toll could exceed that in East Asia’s last major disaster of this kind, the sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol last year, in which 304 people were killed, most of them high school students. | It appeared that the death toll could exceed that in East Asia’s last major disaster of this kind, the sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol last year, in which 304 people were killed, most of them high school students. |
| Images released Tuesday afternoon by the Chinese state media showed boats swarming around the capsized vessel and rescue workers on the keel, which lay above the waterline in muddy water, perpendicular to the riverbank. Xinhua reported that rescuers had cut into the ship in an attempt to reach possible survivors. | |
| Alan Loynd, a longtime salvage expert based in Hong Kong, said that cutting a hole into the hull would require making sure the ship was in shallow water, to ensure it did not sink deeper. “The danger, of course, is if she’s floating upside down, you let the air out and she sinks,” he said. “You’d probably want to tow her into the shallows.” | |
| Many of the passengers who boarded the vessel in Nanjing on May 28 for a trip to last 10 days or more were older people on group tours. In Shanghai, many of the tourists had booked through the Xiehe Tourism Agency. On Tuesday afternoon, the agency’s offices there were closed, with a note taped to the door saying that the managers had gone to the site of the accident. | Many of the passengers who boarded the vessel in Nanjing on May 28 for a trip to last 10 days or more were older people on group tours. In Shanghai, many of the tourists had booked through the Xiehe Tourism Agency. On Tuesday afternoon, the agency’s offices there were closed, with a note taped to the door saying that the managers had gone to the site of the accident. |
| Grieving family members who had shown up at the office were sent by officials to a local petition bureau, about half a mile away, and told to wait there. At the bureau, dozens of relatives of passengers were inside the waiting rooms, many of them angry that the government had not provided them with any information about the accident or a list of possible victims. | Grieving family members who had shown up at the office were sent by officials to a local petition bureau, about half a mile away, and told to wait there. At the bureau, dozens of relatives of passengers were inside the waiting rooms, many of them angry that the government had not provided them with any information about the accident or a list of possible victims. |
| “They don’t want to tell us anything, and they treat us like we’re going to do something bad,” said a woman with the surname Chen, who said three of her sisters and two brothers-in-law were believed to have been on the Oriental Star with 14 other members of a tour group. “We just want to know where they are. Our family lost five people.” | “They don’t want to tell us anything, and they treat us like we’re going to do something bad,” said a woman with the surname Chen, who said three of her sisters and two brothers-in-law were believed to have been on the Oriental Star with 14 other members of a tour group. “We just want to know where they are. Our family lost five people.” |
| Ms. Chen’s husband, who said his name was Mr. Cai, stepped in, saying: “No one has talked to us; we’ve gotten no update. It’s really disappointing.” | Ms. Chen’s husband, who said his name was Mr. Cai, stepped in, saying: “No one has talked to us; we’ve gotten no update. It’s really disappointing.” |
| When a man who appeared to be a higher-ranking official arrived at the bureau, some relatives shouted at him and followed him, demanding answers. Others jostled with staff members at the bureau after they were told not to talk with the news media. | When a man who appeared to be a higher-ranking official arrived at the bureau, some relatives shouted at him and followed him, demanding answers. Others jostled with staff members at the bureau after they were told not to talk with the news media. |
| In an indication of how seriously the ruling Communist Party regarded the accident, Prime Minister Li Keqiang arrived at the scene of the rescue efforts on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. News organizations reported that Xi Jinping, the country’s president and the party’s leader, had “issued important instructions immediately” to direct rescue operations. | In an indication of how seriously the ruling Communist Party regarded the accident, Prime Minister Li Keqiang arrived at the scene of the rescue efforts on Tuesday, Xinhua reported. News organizations reported that Xi Jinping, the country’s president and the party’s leader, had “issued important instructions immediately” to direct rescue operations. |
| The Chinese Navy was sending a contingent of more than 140 divers to the site of the capsized ship, the Twitter account of the state-run People’s Daily reported. People’s Daily also reported that a 65-year-old woman had been rescued early Tuesday afternoon, more than 15 hours after the ship sank. It was not clear where she had been found. People’s Daily originally reported that the woman was 85. | The Chinese Navy was sending a contingent of more than 140 divers to the site of the capsized ship, the Twitter account of the state-run People’s Daily reported. People’s Daily also reported that a 65-year-old woman had been rescued early Tuesday afternoon, more than 15 hours after the ship sank. It was not clear where she had been found. People’s Daily originally reported that the woman was 85. |
| The central government ordered all Chinese journalists, except for those from Xinhua and China Central Television, to refrain from going to the scene, some Chinese journalists said. The government often issues such orders when unexpected and politically delicate news events take place. | The central government ordered all Chinese journalists, except for those from Xinhua and China Central Television, to refrain from going to the scene, some Chinese journalists said. The government often issues such orders when unexpected and politically delicate news events take place. |
| The sinking is the most prominent transportation accident in China since a high-speed train crash near the eastern city of Wenzhou in 2011, in which 40 people died. | The sinking is the most prominent transportation accident in China since a high-speed train crash near the eastern city of Wenzhou in 2011, in which 40 people died. |
| In the sinking of the Oriental Star, both the captain and the chief engineer, who survived and were taken into police custody, said during questioning that the ship capsized when it was hit by a tornado, according to reports in the state-run media. But on Tuesday afternoon, China’s weather agency could only confirm that there had been “severe convective weather” in the region. It said it was sending a team to Hubei Province in central China, where the ship sank, to investigate whether a tornado had taken place. | In the sinking of the Oriental Star, both the captain and the chief engineer, who survived and were taken into police custody, said during questioning that the ship capsized when it was hit by a tornado, according to reports in the state-run media. But on Tuesday afternoon, China’s weather agency could only confirm that there had been “severe convective weather” in the region. It said it was sending a team to Hubei Province in central China, where the ship sank, to investigate whether a tornado had taken place. |
| Yang Min, who was waiting in Shanghai for news about his 60-year-old parents and his 7-year-old daughter, all of whom had been on the ship, said he had called them about 9 p.m. Monday, just minutes before the vessel was reported to have sunk. “They said it was raining, but they didn’t say the weather was too bad,” Mr. Yang said by telephone. | Yang Min, who was waiting in Shanghai for news about his 60-year-old parents and his 7-year-old daughter, all of whom had been on the ship, said he had called them about 9 p.m. Monday, just minutes before the vessel was reported to have sunk. “They said it was raining, but they didn’t say the weather was too bad,” Mr. Yang said by telephone. |
| In Chinese, the term for tornado, longjuanfeng, is used more loosely than Americans use its English equivalent. One report in a Chinese newspaper said that a “tornado,” with winds of about 50 miles per hour, had struck the area around the time the ship was reported to have capsized. Winds of that strength are associated with tornadoes on or below the lowest rung on the six-level scale used in the United States. | In Chinese, the term for tornado, longjuanfeng, is used more loosely than Americans use its English equivalent. One report in a Chinese newspaper said that a “tornado,” with winds of about 50 miles per hour, had struck the area around the time the ship was reported to have capsized. Winds of that strength are associated with tornadoes on or below the lowest rung on the six-level scale used in the United States. |
| Local news reports said that another cruise ship had sailed from Nanjing at the same time as the Oriental Star and had pulled into a port to avoid the bad weather. That ship’s passengers had been booked by another tourist agency, Jiangxi Southern International Travel Agency, in Nanchang. A man answering the phone at that company, who refused to give his name, confirmed that a ship carrying tourists from his agency had set out with the Oriental Star and had stopped halfway because of the weather. | Local news reports said that another cruise ship had sailed from Nanjing at the same time as the Oriental Star and had pulled into a port to avoid the bad weather. That ship’s passengers had been booked by another tourist agency, Jiangxi Southern International Travel Agency, in Nanchang. A man answering the phone at that company, who refused to give his name, confirmed that a ship carrying tourists from his agency had set out with the Oriental Star and had stopped halfway because of the weather. |
| The Oriental Star sank in Jianli County in Hubei Province. It was sailing between two of China’s largest cities, from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, on the east coast, to Chongqing, an interior metropolis. That journey takes several days. | The Oriental Star sank in Jianli County in Hubei Province. It was sailing between two of China’s largest cities, from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, on the east coast, to Chongqing, an interior metropolis. That journey takes several days. |
| There are no operational airports near the site of the accident. The area is more than 125 miles north of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, and the same distance from Wuhan, Hubei’s capital. | There are no operational airports near the site of the accident. The area is more than 125 miles north of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, and the same distance from Wuhan, Hubei’s capital. |
| The Oriental Star was built in February 1994 and was capable of carrying 534 people, Xinhua reported. The ship belongs to the Chongqing Oriental Ferry Company, which is state-owned and deeply in debt. Last year the company reported assets of about $14.5 million and liabilities of more than twice that amount, or $29.8 million, according to records filed with the government. | |
| An employee of the company, who gave his surname as Deng, said that much of its senior management was heading to the scene of the capsizing. Mr. Deng said there were no plans for the company, which has about half a dozen ships, to halt tours on its other vessels. “We’ll be very careful carrying out safety measures, that’s for sure,” he said by telephone. | An employee of the company, who gave his surname as Deng, said that much of its senior management was heading to the scene of the capsizing. Mr. Deng said there were no plans for the company, which has about half a dozen ships, to halt tours on its other vessels. “We’ll be very careful carrying out safety measures, that’s for sure,” he said by telephone. |