A total of 21 people were confirmed dead while one person remains missing after a tugboat with 25 people on board sank on the Yangtze River in east China’s Jiangsu Province, local authorities said on Saturday.
According to the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration (JMSD), rescuers are still searching for the cockpit along the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River for the missing one.
The boat, coded “Wanshenzhou 67”, was lifted out of the water on Saturday, 40 hours after it sank in Fubei Channel, near Jingjiang City, with rescuers have so far saving three people.
Initial investigations found that it capsized due to “improper operations”.
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According to the JMSD, the tugboat operators did not complete the compulsory procedures needed for trial operations, nor did they report the tug’s conditions to authorities.
The boat sank in the midst of a full circle swinging due to improper handling, the JMSD told Xinhua.
The local authorities published the names of those on board, including eight foreigners – four Singaporeans, an Indonesian, a Malaysian, an Indian and a Japanese national.
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According to the JMSD, all 25 aboard were men.
As at 11a.m., 19 bodies had been spotted in nearby waters, with two already retrieved.
The JMSD confirmed that rescuers had saved three people, all Chinese, including an interpreter.
Meanwhile, all the eight foreigners are dead.
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The 30-metre long boat, with a weight of 368 tonnes, was built by Anhui Bengbu Shenzhou Machinery Co. Ltd. in October.
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