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| More Bodies Are Found as Yangtze Ship Is Lifted | More Bodies Are Found as Yangtze Ship Is Lifted |
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| BEIJING — Grieving relatives of the hundreds of people who died in the Yangtze River cruise ship disaster expressed growing frustration on Friday at the lack of answers from officials over why the boat capsized during a storm and at the government’s attempts to muzzle their outrage. | |
| Roughly 1,200 relatives of the missing have gathered in Jianli, the city closest to where the Oriental Star capsized this week with 456 people aboard. During a news conference on Friday, several distraught family members burst into the room and demanded to speak to reporters before being ushered out by officials. | Roughly 1,200 relatives of the missing have gathered in Jianli, the city closest to where the Oriental Star capsized this week with 456 people aboard. During a news conference on Friday, several distraught family members burst into the room and demanded to speak to reporters before being ushered out by officials. |
| A number of victims’ relatives have described being trailed by government minders and instructed not to speak to journalists. And in a letter that family members distributed to reporters and that was posted online Friday by Phoenix News, based in Hong Kong, the relatives demanded that the bodies of victims be returned to them so they could be buried at home, rather than be cremated as rumored. | A number of victims’ relatives have described being trailed by government minders and instructed not to speak to journalists. And in a letter that family members distributed to reporters and that was posted online Friday by Phoenix News, based in Hong Kong, the relatives demanded that the bodies of victims be returned to them so they could be buried at home, rather than be cremated as rumored. |
| “We hope the bodies of our kin can be returned to us,” said the letter, which was later deleted online. | “We hope the bodies of our kin can be returned to us,” said the letter, which was later deleted online. |
| State news media reported that 97 bodies of the 442 still missing had been recovered by Friday morning, when crews using cranes and machinery righted the ship. By noon Saturday, Xinhua, the official news agency, said that the confirmed death toll had risen to 396, although it did not say whether all the bodies had been recovered. The report added that 46 people were still missing. | |
| Chinese state television showed the Oriental Star’s top three decks emerging from the muddy river. A portion of its blue roof was crumpled, though it was unclear whether the damage occurred when it capsized or during efforts to right it. | Chinese state television showed the Oriental Star’s top three decks emerging from the muddy river. A portion of its blue roof was crumpled, though it was unclear whether the damage occurred when it capsized or during efforts to right it. |
| Officials have not given foreign journalists access to any of the 14 people who managed to escape when the ship overturned Monday night, but Xinhua released interviews with several of the survivors, including the captain and chief engineer. | Officials have not given foreign journalists access to any of the 14 people who managed to escape when the ship overturned Monday night, but Xinhua released interviews with several of the survivors, including the captain and chief engineer. |
| In an account published by Xinhua on Friday, Wu Jianqiang, a 58-year-old passenger described as an illiterate farmer from Tianjin, said that he and his wife were in their cabin when rainwater began pouring through the windows. | In an account published by Xinhua on Friday, Wu Jianqiang, a 58-year-old passenger described as an illiterate farmer from Tianjin, said that he and his wife were in their cabin when rainwater began pouring through the windows. |
| He said an attendant began making the rounds, urging passengers to move their beds away from the windows and toward the doors to protect them from water damage. Moments later, he said, the ship began to tilt, and one of the beds slid, pinning his wife against a wall. | He said an attendant began making the rounds, urging passengers to move their beds away from the windows and toward the doors to protect them from water damage. Moments later, he said, the ship began to tilt, and one of the beds slid, pinning his wife against a wall. |
| “I could feel my feet slipping from beneath me, but the bed I was on stayed in place,” he said, according to the English version of the article. “So I stretched out my hands to my wife, but our fingers never met.” | “I could feel my feet slipping from beneath me, but the bed I was on stayed in place,” he said, according to the English version of the article. “So I stretched out my hands to my wife, but our fingers never met.” |
| “Then the rug struck me on my head, and I knew the ship must have capsized,” he said. | “Then the rug struck me on my head, and I knew the ship must have capsized,” he said. |
| With water surging into the cabin, Mr. Wu said, he made his way to the window, opened it and was sucked out. “It all happened within a minute,” he said. | With water surging into the cabin, Mr. Wu said, he made his way to the window, opened it and was sucked out. “It all happened within a minute,” he said. |
| He said he crawled onto the overturned hull of the ship, joining four other survivors. His wife was still missing Friday. | He said he crawled onto the overturned hull of the ship, joining four other survivors. His wife was still missing Friday. |
| Mr. Wu’s account contained a number of discrepancies with other reports on the disaster. He said passengers that day had lingered at the final stop, a tourist attraction along the banks of the river, until 6 p.m. — other accounts said they had returned to the ship seven hours earlier — and the Chinese version of his account described him clasping hands with his wife as the ship began to keel. | Mr. Wu’s account contained a number of discrepancies with other reports on the disaster. He said passengers that day had lingered at the final stop, a tourist attraction along the banks of the river, until 6 p.m. — other accounts said they had returned to the ship seven hours earlier — and the Chinese version of his account described him clasping hands with his wife as the ship began to keel. |
| Some relatives of the victims have questioned official accounts of the boat’s final moments. | Some relatives of the victims have questioned official accounts of the boat’s final moments. |
| In an email to a friend, one relative, Cui Yuchen, asked why the captain decided to continue sailing through the storm and why furniture on the ship was not bolted to the floor. Ms. Cui, who later confirmed the email’s contents, also questioned whether moving so many beds at once had contributed to the vessel’s instability. | In an email to a friend, one relative, Cui Yuchen, asked why the captain decided to continue sailing through the storm and why furniture on the ship was not bolted to the floor. Ms. Cui, who later confirmed the email’s contents, also questioned whether moving so many beds at once had contributed to the vessel’s instability. |
| “In such terrible weather, shouldn’t the captain have given safety instructions to everyone on board, especially when he knew there were lots of old people on board?” she wrote. | “In such terrible weather, shouldn’t the captain have given safety instructions to everyone on board, especially when he knew there were lots of old people on board?” she wrote. |
| In an interview published by Xinhua late Thursday, the ship’s captain, Zhang Shunwen, 52, said he had tried to steer the ship through the violent storm but lost control as he headed north with the prevailing winds. As the wheelhouse filled with water, Mr. Zhang felt his way out and then made his way to the upturned hull, Xinhua said. | In an interview published by Xinhua late Thursday, the ship’s captain, Zhang Shunwen, 52, said he had tried to steer the ship through the violent storm but lost control as he headed north with the prevailing winds. As the wheelhouse filled with water, Mr. Zhang felt his way out and then made his way to the upturned hull, Xinhua said. |
| In the report, Mr. Zhang did not address a number of questions, including why he continued to sail when other ships had dropped anchor to ride out what meteorologists have described as an unusually severe storm, including a rare tornado. | In the report, Mr. Zhang did not address a number of questions, including why he continued to sail when other ships had dropped anchor to ride out what meteorologists have described as an unusually severe storm, including a rare tornado. |
| Also unanswered was whether any passengers were instructed to don life jackets. | Also unanswered was whether any passengers were instructed to don life jackets. |
| The report said that Mr. Zhang was in police custody but that he had not been charged with any crime. It said that Mr. Zhang’s wife, who also worked on the ship, was among the missing. “Until the incident, Zhang was regarded as an effective captain, and his experience as a sailor was flawless with numerous awards,” Xinhua said, adding that he had 35 years of experience as a riverboat captain. | The report said that Mr. Zhang was in police custody but that he had not been charged with any crime. It said that Mr. Zhang’s wife, who also worked on the ship, was among the missing. “Until the incident, Zhang was regarded as an effective captain, and his experience as a sailor was flawless with numerous awards,” Xinhua said, adding that he had 35 years of experience as a riverboat captain. |
| The criticism by relatives has not appeared in the Chinese news media, which has described the rescue efforts as heroic and reported how residents in Jianli have tied yellow ribbons to their cars to signify their willingness to give rides to the bereaved. | The criticism by relatives has not appeared in the Chinese news media, which has described the rescue efforts as heroic and reported how residents in Jianli have tied yellow ribbons to their cars to signify their willingness to give rides to the bereaved. |
| In an editorial on Friday, The Global Times, a newspaper owned by People’s Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, chastised the foreign news media for highlighting the complaints of victims’ relatives. | In an editorial on Friday, The Global Times, a newspaper owned by People’s Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper, chastised the foreign news media for highlighting the complaints of victims’ relatives. |
| “Some foreign media outlets are eager to take advantage of the relatives’ agony and rub salt into their wounds, creating confrontations between people at the center of the event and those at the periphery,” the newspaper said. “This is really unkind.” | “Some foreign media outlets are eager to take advantage of the relatives’ agony and rub salt into their wounds, creating confrontations between people at the center of the event and those at the periphery,” the newspaper said. “This is really unkind.” |