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Chinese Ferry Capsizes With 458 People On Board

Chinese Ferry Capsizes With 458 People On Board

Rescuers say they have heard cries for help coming from within the hull of a ship that capsized on China's Yangtze River with 458 people on board.

The Eastern Star ship is reported to have sunk rapidly on Monday at around 9.28pm (2.28pm UK time) local time in the Jianli section of the river.

Authorities say six bodies have been recovered, while seven people have managed to swim to shore and around 15 have been rescued in what could be one of China's worst shipping disasters.

The ship's hull is still visible in the river where the water is about 15 metres (50 ft) deep. Around 110 boats and 3,000 people are understood to be involved in the search effort.

Search teams seen banging on the upturned hull of the ship with a hammer said they had heard sounds of life and state broadcaster CCTV reported that divers have managed to rescue three out of five passengers thought to be trapped inside.

One of them, a 65-year-old woman pulled from the ship on Tuesday, around 14 hours after it capsized, was "in good physical condition," according to CCTV.

China's Premier Li Keqiang, who has been directing the rescue operation at the scene, described the woman's survival as a "miracle".

Tour guide Zhang Hui survived in the water for 10 hours despite not being able to swim by clinging to a branch after climbing out of a window with a life jacket.

Reuters reported him telling the Xinhua news agency: "Wave after wave crashed over me; I swallowed a lot of water."

As distraught relatives gathered at a travel agency in Shanghai and the ship's departure and arrival points, dozens of boats are helping in the search for passengers although poor weather is hampering rescue efforts.

The director of rescue operations in Hubei province's Jianli county, named only as Mr Hu, told the China News Service: "We got there at about 5am. There were hats and shoes floating in the water."

Chinese media have reported that the Three Gorges Dam is slowing down its turbines to help the operation by reducing the water flow in the river.

Pictures of the search for survivors obtained by Sky News show workers pulling bodies from the river.

Sources have told Sky that two bodies were found 60km along the Yangtze River, illustrating the speed of the river's current.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "The Three Gorges Dam, which is about 300km upstream from the disaster site, is the world's largest dam.

"The flow of water through it can be controlled, but when it's at full flow, the current and flow on the lower side is extremely powerful. By reducing the flow, they hope to slow the current downstream at the disaster site."

Among those on board the ship were 47 crew and 406 tourists - the oldest in his 80s and the youngest three years old - that were on a trip organised by a Shanghai tour group.

Those rescued include the ship's captain and engineer, who said the vessel sank rapidly after being caught in a storm.

The two men have been detained by police for questioning, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

CCTV said the ship had been carrying 406 Chinese passengers, five travel agency employees and 47 crew.

The vessel reportedly had the capacity to carry more than 500 passengers and crew.

An AFP photographer saw 15 ambulances driving away from the ship as they passed a road block set up about 13km (eight miles) from the main staging area for emergency crews.

Stone added: "The added tragedy is that many Chinese people are unable to swim; it's not something many of them learn as children."

The vessel was heading to southwest China's Chongqing city from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province when it capsized.

It is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, which runs tours along the Three Gorges area along the Yangtze and the company has been operating since 1967, according to the Hubei Daily newspaper.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered that no efforts are to be spared in the rescue attempt.

Local reporters said they had received notification from the authorities telling them not to go to the site of the disaster but to cover the news based on reports from CCTV and the Xinhua news agency.

Such information control is common in China for major disasters, reflecting the stability-obsessed ruling Communist Party's fears of any kind of unrest.