(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Rescuers cut three holes into the overturned hull of a river cruise ship in unsuccessful attempts to find more survivors Thursday, as the death toll in the Yangtze River disaster reached 75. More than 360 people remain missing and are feared dead, AP reported.
Workers stabilized the ship with cranes and then cut into sections of the hull, which jutted above the river's gray currents, to check for survivors before welding the sections back to the hull to preserve the ship's buoyancy and balance, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
So far, authorities say at least 14 people survived Monday night's sudden capsizing in a severe storm, some by jumping from the ship during the early moments and swimming or drifting ashore. Three of them were pulled by divers from air pockets inside the overturned hull Tuesday after rescuers heard yells for help coming from inside.
Although chances of finding anyone else alive have all but disappeared, Chinese officials have not yet declared the search over.
More than 200 divers were working underwater in three shifts to search the ship's cabins one by one, the broadcaster said. Rescuers pulled out 49 bodies Thursday, bringing the toll to 75, Jianli county chief Huang Zhen told reporters.
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