Ship carrying 458 people sinks in Yangtze River
- Xinhua, June 2, 2015
A passenger ship carrying 458 people sank Monday night in the Hubei section of China's Yangtze River.
The ship, named Dongfangzhixing (Eastern Star), sank at around 9:28 p.m. in the Jianli (Hubei Province) section of the Yangtze River, according to the Yangtze River navigation administration.
The captain and the chief engineer, who have been rescued, both claimed the ship sank quickly after being caught in a cyclone.
It was heading from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to southwest China's Chongqing city.
There were 405 Chinese passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members aboard, according to the administration.
Eight people have been rescued.
Rescue work is hampered by strong wind and heavy rain.