Officials say at least 15 people survived, with some found alive inside the submerged hull of the Eastern Star.
The captain and the chief engineer, who both survived, have been detained. They say the boat, which sent no emergency signal, was caught in a cyclone.
The rescue is continuing into the night but is being hampered by bad weather.
Chinese media quoted the captain as saying the vessel sank within minutes, while many people were asleep. BBC weather forecaster Peter Gibbs says there were severe
thunderstorms in the area.
Most of those on board were tourists aged between 50 and 80 travelling from the eastern city of Nanjing to Chongqing in the south-west - a journey of at least 1,500km (930 miles).
The ship sank in the Damazhou waterway section of the Yangtze, where the world's third
longest river reaches depths of about 15m (50ft).
longest river reaches depths of about 15m (50ft).
Distraught relatives
Eastern Star - Dongfangzhixing in Chinese - had been carrying 405 Chinese passengers, five travel agency employees and 46 crew members.
The 76m-long ship weighs 2,200 tons, and could accommodate a maximum of 534 people.
The boat sank at about 21:30 local time on Monday evening (13:30 GMT), but rescuers did not
reach the vessel until at least two-and-a-half hours later.
reach the vessel until at least two-and-a-half hours later.
CCTV said the vessel was owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation which runs tours to the scenic Three Gorges area along the Yangtze.
Relatives scuffled with officials at a local government building in Shanghai, frustrated over the lack of information, Reuters reports.
They had earlier gathered outside the closed offices of the travel agency, Xiehe Travel, which made the bookings for the cruise.
They told reporters that phone calls to their loved ones on board were not getting through.
Sina News reported that a young man was seen sobbing by the door, saying: "Mum and Dad I was wrong, I shouldn't have let you go off on your holiday."
Another relative, Huang Yan, says she believes her husband and father-in-law were on board, but she could not be sure because she had not seen the official passenger manifest, the AP news agency reports.
"Why did the captain leave the ship while the passengers were still missing?'' she asked.
(5W1H):
Who: Passengers on a missing cruise, the relatives of passengers
What:The huge cruise capsized on the Yangtze River
When:21:30 local time on Monday evening (13:30 GMT)
Why: The bad weather espacially cyclone resulted in the capsizing.
Where: on the Yangtze River in China's Hubei province
How: The rescue is continuing into the night but is being hampered by bad weather.
(Vocabulary):
(Vocabulary):
1. capsize (v.) (使)(船)翻覆
Def: something turns upside down in the water
2. submerge (v.) (使)沒入水中；(使)淹沒
Def: something goes below the surface of some water or another liquid.
3. hull (n.) (船) 外殼；主體
Def: the main body of a boat or a tank
4. detain (v.) 扣押；扣留
Def: keep one in a place under others control
5. cyclone (n.) 氣旋；旋風
Def: a violent tropical storm in which the air goes round and round.
6. distraught (adj.) 快發瘋的；憂心如焚的
Def: deeply agitated especially from emotion
7. accommodate (v.) 容納
Def: a building or space have enough room for someone or something
8. scuffled with (phr.) 與...發生衝突.扭打
Def: People fight with each other for a short time in a disorganized way
9. go off (phr.) 進行；進展
Def: everything happened in the way that was planned or hoped.
(Info resource) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32969861
(Info resource) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32969861
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No matter who should be to blame, the tragedy has taken place. We couldn't make those people back to life or make their families up only by giving them allowance. All the government can do is to deal with the tragedy well and to try his best to satisfy all the victims' family. I believe that the victims' family can see the government's sincerity in their attitude and actions.
回覆刪除The only thing that we can do is to pray for victims and their families.But I still want to let the captain pay for what he done.
回覆刪除Fight for justice!!
The local government is stll not give the victims' families a explain. I think that someone should show up and be resposible for the tragedy. May the victims' families can get the respond they want.
回覆刪除