Tragedy on The Yangtze.docVIP

Tragedy on The Yangtze 　　On June 3， at the middle reaches of the Yangtze River near Jianli County of central China’s Hubei Province， rescue workers were racing against time to search for survivors in the capsized ship Eastern Star. 　　Above a stripe of the hull jutting out of water stood rescue workers cutting holes into the ship and pumping in oxygen， and around the wreckage， several barges kept busy. Divers were combing the ship and downstream water to locate survivors. 　　As of June 5， 14 had been found alive， while others were either dead or missing. 　　The cruise， carrying 458 people including 406 passengers， five tour guides， and a crew of 46， overturned at 9：28 p.m. on June 1 while it was sailing upstream along the Yangtze River from Nanjing， east China’s Jiangsu Province， to Chongqing Municipality. Most of the passengers on the ship were seniors on a sightseeing tour. 　　The cruise sank “within one or two min- utes” after encountering a tornado， the ship’s captain and chief engineer explained after surviving the disaster by swimming ashore， according to a report by Xinhua. 　　The meteorological administration confirmed that heavy rain and strong wind had battered the region at the time of the accident， and the violent storm continued into the next day， hampering rescue efforts. 　　 Rescue efforts 　　“As long as there is a glimmer of hope， we will not give up，” said Yang Chuantang， China’s Minister of Transport， on June 2 at a press conference. 　　Around 1 a.m. on June 2， the Yangtze River Search and Rescue Coordination Center received a report of the accident， according to Z， a news portal under the ministry. The ministry quickly activated their emergency response and set up a lead group headed by the minister. 　　President Xi Jinping ordered all-out rescue efforts and dispatched a State Council work team to the site to guide the search and rescue work. Premier Li Keqiang arrived at the scene on the morning of June 2. He asked rescuers to seize every se