Rescuers Frantically Listen for Survivors in Submerged Ship

ByEMILY SHAPIRO ABCNews logo
Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Officials made dramatic rescue efforts, at least one with a hammer, to reach hundreds of passengers trapped in an overturned cruise ship on China's Yangtze River after it capsized in a storm.

Search teams heard people calling out from within the partially submerged ship, state broadcaster CCTV News reported. Video showed one of the rescuers lying on the upside-down hull and tapping a hammer, apparently listen for trapped people inside.

Desperate relatives are furious as they search for their loves ones: One man said he was angry because he has no idea whether family members are dead or alive.

Hundreds of divers from the Chinese navy are at the site. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang also rushed to the scene.

Several people have been rescued, CCTV reported. At least 14 people survived while five were killed when the cruise capsized around 9:30 p.m. Monday, according to CCTV.

At least 456 passengers were on board, most of them elderly.

CCTV said the captain and chief engineer were in police custody.

The Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corp., which CCTV reported owns the ship, could not be reached for comment.

ABC News' Kaijing Xiao and The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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