Jianli, China (CNN)The Eastern Star is upright once again, looking almost normal with its bottom resting on the water and its deck and cabins clear above it.
The ship's positioning Friday was a step forward in the dayslong nightmare playing out on a section of the Yangtze River that flows through Hubei province. It means answers should be easier to come by as to why the Eastern Star capsized Monday night and what can be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
It also means closure could be coming soon to hundreds of families.
At least 396 bodies had been recovered by Saturday, according to Chinese state media. There are 46 people still unaccounted for.
Of the 456 people on board, 14 survived. But rescuers have had no luck since Tuesday, when a 21-year-old sailor and 65-year-old woman were plucked from the water.
The chances of more miracles have dwindled with each passing day. And the salvage process has begun.
Scores of ships, thousands of soldiers involved
That process involved huge floating cranes that set up alongside the overturned river cruise ship, dropped cables and hooks into the water, rolled the ship upright and raised it to the surface. About 50 divers took part overnight Thursday by tying slings around the 2,200-ton vessel, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
State-run CCTV News tweeted pictures of the Eastern Star after this happened Friday. Parts of its top level looked smashed, but the other levels appeared largely intact. By draining the ship, the idea is that it could again float on its own.
The idea is to go cabin by cabin, looking for people who may have, by chance, survived in a cranny inside -- and for the many who most certainly did not. It's all part of a huge operation involving nearly 150 other ships, 59 machines, over 3,400 Chinese troops and 1,700 paramilitary personnel, Xinhua said.
In addition to the human toll, there's an environmental toll from oil leaked into the Yangtze River, Transport Ministry spokesman Xu Chengguang said.
Stucture of the Lead:
Who: people on the The Eastern Star
When: this year
What: Many people died in the accident
Why: There is broken bottom under the ship
Where: Yangtze River in China
How: it cause not only human toll but environmental toll
Keyword:
capsized (翻船)
dwindled (縮小)
salvage (搶救)
cranes (起重機)
Meanwhile (與此同時)
submerged (淹沒的)
theoretically (理論上地)
.cranny (裂縫)
It's a very terrible tragedy. I think the rescue operations of Chinese government is not bad because they block off water from dam,which can reduce the difficulty of rescue. But if their actions can be faster maybe the casulties will decrease much more.
回覆刪除It was such a tragedy that I couldn't say anything. It was a beautiful Friday originally. But, because of the shipwreck, they couldn’t enjoy their holiday, even their life! After watching this news, I feel sorrowful, and hope the China government could do their best to the refugees’ family.
回覆刪除It was a very scare tragedy. And most of passengers were prepared to take a rest so they don’t send any distress signals when the accident occurred that was why there were many casualties. To this accident I feel sorrowful because the shipwreck, the passengers’ families cannot reunite with them anymore.
回覆刪除