Divers and other rescue workers battled Tuesday to reach survivors after hearing cries for help from within a tourist-filled cruise ship that capsized during a violent storm on China’s Yangtze River with 458 people on board.
In what could become the worst ferry disaster in China in nearly 70 years, six helicopters were sent to central Hubei province to scour the waters for survivors, while more than 140 navy divers rushed to the scene.
Some people escaped or were rescued. But least 430 people remained unaccounted for, authorities said.
Click here for a report by The Washington Post.
Maritime transport remains critical in Asia, but boats are plagued by poor maintenance, flaws in design and overcrowding.
Although it was not immediately clear, what caused the Chinese crash, the sinking is the latest in a long line of boat disasters to have hit the region, according to a retrospective report by Discovery.
