Ship to be removed for victims search, survivor also survives deadly quake

BEIJING - The capsized Eastern Star cruise ship will be moved to allow divers to search for victims at the site.

With eight victims still missing, the search and rescue headquarters will move the ship as soon as weather and water movements are favorable, Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang said Monday.

"A glimmer of hope deserves all-out efforts," he said.

Ministry sources said on Saturday the search for the missing victims would be extended for nearly 1,300 km along the Yangtze River between Jianli in Hubei Province, where the ship sank, downstream to the Wusong Estuary in Shanghai.

The Eastern Star with 456 people onboard was on an 11-day trip along the Yangtze when it was overturned by a tornado last Monday night.

Fourteen people survived the disaster. As of Monday, rescuers had retrieved the bodies of 434 victims.

Self-account of survivors

Jiang Geng at hospital, June 3, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]

Jiang Geng, 35, travel agent

Jiang Geng and his colleague Zhang Hui were in a room on the second deck when the ship suddenly tilted, according to anhuinews.com.

Realizing that something was wrong, Jiang grabbed the life jacket from a cabinet by his side and immediately jumped out of the window.

Jiang kept calling for help to passing-by vessels and was rescued by a boat hours after drifting in the river.