(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The death toll from the sinking of a Chinese cruise ship on the Yangtze River climbed to 396 on Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Only 14 people survived the accident, and 46 people remain missing, according to the rescue headquarters in Jianli, central China's Hubei Province.
The 2,200-ton Eastern Star was carrying 456 people on an 11-day trip along China's biggest river when it was capsized by a tornado near Jianli on Monday night.
Rescuers found six bodies after combing some 200 km of waterway downstream, according to local armed police force. All cabins on the ship have now been sterilized to prevent any possible outbreak of disease.
On Friday night, legal representative of Chongqing Dongfang Shipping Company that owns the Eastern Star, apologized to all the victims and their families and promised to cooperate with any investigation. In a sign of mourning, China's state and other major TV channels have suspended some programs from Saturday.
The 76.5-meter vessel had been in service for nearly 20 years and can carry up to 534 people. It went through an annual maintenance in late 2014, and was qualified to cruise until April 2016, the company said.
More than 3,400 soldiers and 1,700 police together with 149 vessels and a helicopter have taken part in the search and rescue mission. The incident was the worst maritime disaster in China since 1948, when a steamship blew up on the Huangpu River, killing more than 1,000 people.
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