BEIJING — A passenger boat carrying more than 450 people sank overnight in the Yangtze River during a cyclone in southern China, and eight people have been rescued, the state broadcaster CCTV reported Tuesday.
Rescue work was underway, but low visibility due to fog was hampering the search, CCTV said. The boat was traveling from Nanjing upstream to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it sank Monday night in Hubei province.
The official Xinhua News Agency quoted the captain and chief engineer, who were both rescued, saying the ship sank quickly after being caught in a cyclone.
CCTV said the boat was carrying 406 Chinese passengers, five travel agency employees and 47 crew members. It sank in the Damazou waterway section, where the river is about 50 feet deep.
Local media reports that most of the passengers onboard the ship are between 50 and 80 years old #Yangtzeshipsinks pic.twitter.com/npBgFOuyKg— CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) June 2, 2015
CCTV video footage of the river showed calm waters Tuesday morning, with dozens of rescue personnel in bright orange vests gathered on the shore. Several rescue ships were searching the waters, and submersible craft had been deployed.
The channel said seven of the survivors swam to shore and alerted authorities of the sinking. China's People's Daily are reporting the Yangtze River navigation administration as saying rescuers can hear responses from inside the ship -- suggesting there may be additional survivors.
People ALIVE: Rescuers hear response inside after knocking on the ship, according to Yangtze River navigation admin. pic.twitter.com/hn9u5wfEyg— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) June 2, 2015
The Eastern Star yacht measured 251 feet long and 36 feet wide and was capable of carrying a maximum of 534 people, CCTV reported. It is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corp., which focuses on tourism routes in the popular Three Gorges river canyon region.
Update: The ship, known as Eastern Star, is 251 feet long, 36 feet wide and 10.2 feet deep, capable of 534 people pic.twitter.com/998AZDhxZI— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) June 1, 2015
CCTV reported that 6 inches of rain had fallen in the region over the past 24 hours.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is reported to be traveling to the accident site. Xinhua reported that President Xi Jinping had ordered a work team of the State Council, the country's Cabinet, to rush to the site to guide the rescue work.
Update: The ship sank in 1-2 minutes after caught in cyclone. President Xi asks for all-out efforts to rescue. pic.twitter.com/YCHmTfVCfL— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) June 1, 2015
President Xi urges all-out rescue efforts following ship-capsizing accident http://t.co/9mDfZYIiVn pic.twitter.com/uaNXgETocX— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) June 2, 2015
Additional reporting by Mashable.