Just 14 passengers and crew, including the Captain, survived the capsizing of the 534 passenger capacity small river cruise vessel Dong Fang Zhi Xing (Eastern Star) after she overturned in 15 metres of water during a ‘freak tornado’ on China’s Yangtze river on 1st June.

After rescue crews righted the vessel on 5th June the death toll rose to 396 out of 456 that were aboard, with the search ongoing. Diving teams had previously recovered 97 bodies from the upturned craft. Those on board included 405 passengers, 46 crew members and five travel agency workers. Most passengers on board the cruise vessel were aged over 60, according to a manifest.

An investigation found the ship was not overloaded and had enough lifejackets on board for every passenger. Police detained the Captain and Chief Engineer for questioning. According to information recorded in a Nanjing Maritime Safety report, the capsized ship was cited for safety violations during a safety inspection campaign in 2013

The 2,200gt/1993 built, 76.5m long and 11m wide Eastern Star is owned by Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation.