Last night, around 9:28 p.m, the river cruise vessel, MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing, capsized in a storm on the Yangtze River while carrying 458 passengers and crew, including 406 elderly Chinese tourists, 47 crew members and five tour guides.  The ship was on a 1,500km (930 mile) voyage from Nanjing to Chongqing via the Yangtze river when it was reported to have been hit by severe weather near Jingzhou and quickly capsized. There was no distress call and initial reports put the number of survivors at seven, including the captain and the chief engineer.  Roughly a dozen additional survivors have been reported to have been found, including a 65-year-old woman, who was pulled from the capsized ship.  The captain and the chief engineer have been detained by the police.

Reuters is reporting that the China’s weather bureau said a tornado hit the area where the boat was, a freak occurrence in a country where tornados do happen but are not common.  More than 430 people remain unaccounted for.  Rescue teams are attempting to reach passengers who may be trapped inside the capsized hull. Twelve hours after the capsize, there are reports of passengers calling for help from with the ship.

MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing, which has is being translated variously as Eastern Star and Oriental Star, is a four deck passenger vessel, built in 1994 with a total capacity of 543 people.  So far, officials are saying that the ship was not overloaded when it capsized and that there were adequate life jackets aboard.

Chinese Cruise Ship Sinks With Hundreds on Board

Thanks to Alaric Bond and Phil Leon for contributing to this post.