Extreme weather: ship carrying 458 people capsizes in Yangtze River

[Penguin]

It's a cruise. At that time(9pm) most people were in their cabin, 2-4 people per room. It all happened too fast, most people had no time for life jacket. And it was in a crazily rainy night, I was in the provincial capital, very extreme weather.

I didn't say that is what happened, I just wanted to illustrate that even is loaded to less than capacity any number of things can go wrong.

 

[KAL-EL]

My sincere condolences for the dead and missing.

 

[Manindra]

Rest in peace.....

 

[Tractor]

Wu,saved one from Tianjin,said that the ship tilted and finally upside down just within one minute.

 

[TaiShang]

South China on yellow alert for downpours
2015-06-03

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Tuesday issued a yellow alert for rainstorms in the southern regions.

Heavy rainfall will pelt parts of Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, and Shanghai from Tuesday night to Wednesday, the NMC forecast.

It also warned of possible thunderstorms and gales in these areas.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

 

[kuge]

it is time human should put thoughts into built-in rescue technology in the transport vehicle concerned....e.g a massive inflatable tube to work like humpty dumpty
how human beings are so fragile...

 

[war is peace]

And wth s humty dumty.

 

[TaiShang]

 

[AndrewJin]

They have searched for all cabins with possible alive passengers...So, after the golden rule of 72 hours, they are allowed to turn the ship around which is forbidden in the first 72 hours.

 

[TaiShang]

Rescue team begins righting capsized Eastern Star
English.news.cn | 2015-06-04

The photo taken by a cell phone shows the search and rescue team starting to right the capsized cruise ship Eastern Star in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 4, 2015. The ship will be hoisted by cranes on site capable of lifting the whole vessel and set it upright. Over 450 people were on board the Eastern Star when it sank on Monday night in Jianli. (Xinhua/Sun Chengyu)

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The search and rescue team started to right the capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River at 8 p.m. Thursday, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

The decision was made after the rescue headquarters decided the rescue plan should be moved forward quickly.

The ship will be hoisted by cranes capable of lifting the whole vessel to set it upright. Experts in diving, recovery, relief and ship design experts are at the scene to provide support. The plan is in line with international norms.

Every cabin of the cruise ship will be searched.

The righting of the ship, refloating and follow-up work will be done in a scientific and prudent manner, said the MOT, adding that updates would be published in a "timely, accurate, open and transparent" way.

More people have been brought onboard to join the rescue effort and "we shall not give up as long as there is still hope", said the MOT, adding that the plan included identifying cabins that had the biggest likelihood of survivors still inside.

"We will leave no stone unturned," it said.

Chairing a meeting with members of a State Council work team that is overseeing the rescue operation, Vice Premier Ma Kai said experts had concluded that the "timing was right" to upright the cruise ship.

He urged rescuers to put the people first and to carry out the rescue operations in a scientific, swift and orderly manner.

Xu Chengguang, spokesman with the Ministry of Transport (MOT), said at a press conference on Thursday evening that detection equipment used in recent searches has failed to locate any signs of life.

Xu explained that lifting and uprighting the capsized wreckage would help find the missing "in the shortest possible time" and "protect the dignity of the deceased" as much as possible.

Over 450 people were onboard the Eastern Star when it sank on Monday night after being hit by a tornado in Jianli, Hubei Province. The incident could become China's deadliest shipping accident in almost seven decades.

The search and rescue team start to right the capsized cruise ship Eastern Star in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 4, 2015. The ship will be hoisted by cranes on site capable of lifting the whole vessel and set it upright. Over 450 people were on board the Eastern Star when it sank on Monday night in Jianli. (Xinhua/Chen Min)

 

[Keel]

Keep going guys and thanks for your hard works,

COMPENSATIONS to the aggrieved!

Rest in peace my fellow People!

Chinese print-art painting

 

[AndrewJin]

Keep going guys and thanks for your hard works,

COMPENSATIONS to the aggrieved!

Rest in peace my fellow People!

Chinese print-art painting

And further investigate on who should be responsible. Why didn't captain cancel that night like other Yangtze River Cruise?

怪风翻扣巨游轮，

天降邪魔闹水津。

紧急驰援全尽力，

雨和悲泪祭江魂。

 

[Tractor]

And further investigate on who should be responsible. Why didn't captain cancel that night like other Yangtze River Cruise?

Money,he knows well that 'time means money'.Maybe he just made the decision according to the schedule.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

 

[AndrewJin]

Money,he knows well that 'time means money'.Maybe he just made the decision according to the schedule.

Some other tourism vessels paused their journey in nearby ports. This company has some management problems. I took a similar cruise when I was five, the weather was not good but I remembered one night we were not cruising but stayed in a port.