Rescuers cut three more people from the wreckage of a capsized Chinese cruise ship Tuesday as workers battled to find more than 400 people still missing after the boat sank in the storm-tossed Yangtze river. A total of 15 people have so far been saved from the Dongfangzhixing, or "Eastern Star," which went down late Monday on the popular tourist route from the eastern city of Nanjing to the south-western city of Chongqing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Six bodies have also been recovered from the wreckage, but hundreds more are still missing after the passenger ship apparently sank in a matter of seconds with 458 people on board, state media said. State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue workers carrying an elderly woman on a stretcher who was covering her own face. Xinhua said a 65-year-old woman was pulled from the boat on Tuesday afternoon and CCTV described her as in "good physical condition". Zhang Hui, a 43-year-old tour guide who was on the boat, described heavy rain flooding into passengers' rooms just after 9:00 pm local time (1300 GMT) on Monday, Xinhua said.
"Rain poured down on the right side of the boat, many rooms were flooded," Zhang said, according to Xinhua. "Even if the windows were shut, water leaked through." An AFP photographer saw 15 ambulances driving away from the ship as they passed a road block set up about 13 kilometres (8 miles) from the main staging area for emergency crews. Earlier, footage showed rescue workers tapping on the ship's hull, part of which remained above water, with some holding welding gear and others ropes.