Twenty-one dead after China boat capsizes on Yangtze river
Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead after a tugboat capsized
on the Yangtze river in eastern China, state media reported.
The boat, with 25 people on board, overturned while it was conducting
tests on the river near Zhangjiagang, in Jiangsu province. Eight
foreigners were among those on board, including Singaporean, Indian,
Malaysian and Japanese nationals.
Three people have been rescued and the search continues for one
person. Embassies in China gave the number of foreigners on board as
four Singaporeans, two Malaysians, one Indian and one Japanese.
The three people rescued were all Chinese, a news report said.
The tugboat, the 30-metre (98-foot) long Wanshenzhou 67, was
undergoing tests, with the ship's owner and a team of engineers on
board. The Wanshenzhou 67 was registered in Singapore. One survivor who
was rescued early on Friday, Wang Chenhua, said they had been taking the
vessel for a trial voyage.
Wang, who was in the cockpit with a 60-year-old Japanese engineer
acting as his translator, said that soon after they had conducted a load
test for the boat's main engine, the boat “suddenly turned over” to the
left.
He said water rushed into the cockpit which was fully flooded “within
20 seconds”. He survived by holding onto a hydraulic pump that was not
submerged.
Wang added that he had tried to hold on to the Japanese engineer, but
they were separated as the boat sank further.
The boat was constructed in China's Anhui province last October.
Local officials told Xinhua the boat had not properly reported its route
and work plans to the port authorities.
- BBC News
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