400+ missing June 1, 2015 China Cruise Ship Sinks on Yangtze River the ship MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing was struck by a cyclone while traveling on the Yangtze river in Hubei Province while carrying more than 450 people on board. It capsized and all but a few are still missing
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Sinking of the Dong Fang Zhi Xing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Date | 1 June 2015 |
|---|---|
| Location |  ChinaYangtze River |
| Participants | 458 |
| Outcome | Ongoing. Ship sank, 13 rescued |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Missing | 445 |
The MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing (Chinese: 东方之星; pinyin: Dōng Fāng Zhī Xīng, roughly translated as Oriental Star or Eastern Star) was a river cruise ship owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation and operated by Xiehe Travel, making tourist cruises in the Three Gorgesarea.[1] On 1 June 2015, the ship was struck by a cyclone while traveling on the Yangtze river in Hubei Province while carrying more than 450 people on board.
History[edit]
The MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing was constructed in February 1994 with a total capacity of 543 people.[2] The ship was 76 metres (250 ft) long with a beam of 14 metres (45 ft).[3]
Sinking[edit]
On 1 June 2015 while making a 1,500km (930 mile) trip from Nanjing to Chongqing via the Yangtze river, the ship was caught in a severe storm and sank at around 9:28 p.m near Jingzhouin 15 m (49 ft) deep waters. The Chinese Meteorological Administration said that a tornado strike occurred in Jianli county, where the accident took place, but did not confirm that it had struck the ship.[4] The ship was carrying 458 people, including 406 elderly Chinese tourists, 47 crew members and five tour guides. According to crew members that were rescued, the storm hit them and capsized the ship quickly and while most of the passengers were asleep. About seven survivors were able to swim to shore and alert authorities to the situation, about two and a half hours after capsizing.[5]
Rescue efforts were made immediately to save the passengers and crew, though did not commence at scale until about twelve hours after the capsizing. The ship upended and is now partially submerged. Five people have been confirmed dead.[5][6][2] 12 people have been rescued, including the ship's engineer and captain, who were taken into custody.[7][5] According to a tweet from China Central Television, rescuers were able to hear the sound of people trapped inside.[2] CCTV reported that search teams have heard people yelling from within the ship.[5]1000 police officers from the Hubei Armed Police Corps were sent to the site with 40 inflatable boats. Authorities reported that the search and rescue effort include divers, 3000 people, and 50 boats.[5] CCTV have also reported that the ship's captain and chief engineer, two of the rescued persons, have been taken into custody.[8]
President Xi Jinping ordered rescue efforts while Premier Li Keqiang, Vice Premier Ma Kai and State Councilor Yang Jing are travelling to the site.[9]
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