CGTN America
Chinese soldiers and rescue workers pay respect to the victims during a memorial service in front of the raised Chinese cruise ship in Jianli on June 7, 2015. Rescuers extended their search for victims of a Chinese cruise ship sinking to include a vast stretch of the Yangtze river. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE
The death toll from a Chinese cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River during freak weather has risen to 434 as of noon local time on Monday.
In depth: The Eastern Star disaster
The bodies of two victims were recovered Monday morning, reducing the number of the missing people to eight, according to the rescue headquarters in Jianli, central China’s Hubei Province.
Rescuers work in the hull of the cruise ship Eastern Star in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China’s Hubei Province, June 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)
Only 14 people have been found alive so far.
204 victims of the Eastern Star tragedy have been identified via DNA testing as of 8 a.m. GMT on Monday, June 8, 2015.
The Eastern Star cruise ship, carrying 456 people onboard, was on an 11-day trip along the Yangtze River when it was overturned by a tornado last Monday night in Jianli.
Rescuers remove the floorboard on the capsized ship Eastern Star in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River, central China’s Hubei Province, June 8, 2015.
More than 3,400 soldiers, 1,700 paramilitary personnel, together with 149 vessels, 59 machines and a helicopter, have joined in the rescue mission.
Xinhua, CCTV
