The search area for the final missing people extends downriver from the site of the shipwreck.
You Xigui, director of Hubei provincial transport department, says search teams are still working 24/7. "Some passengers remain missing after the Eastern Star was lifted from the water upright. We issued an emergency notice yesterday afternoon, gathering police patrol vessels, civilian ships and more than 260 people to search the downstream waters along the Yangtze River. We have also set up 69 stations in the ports along the river for garrison(驻地) and searching. Now the around-the-clock search operation is underway."
A ceremony was held on the banks of the Yangtze River Sunday morning to remember those who lost their lives.
Hundreds of those who took part in the rescue operations, standing alongside the grieving relatives of the victims, observed three-minutes of silence in tribute (敬意)to the over 400 people who lost their lives last Monday.
Meanwhile, local authorities have also sped up scientific analysis to identify the bodies taken back from the sunken ship. Guo Tangyin, deputy head of the Hubei police, says teams are now matching DNA samples.
With the rescue work drawing to a close, more people are starting to wonder what caused the fatal accident. You Qinghuam, with Shanghai Maritime University, believes a relatively longer alarm response time was the major reason that only 14 people survived.
" The signal for help was not sent out this time. It takes too long to receive the message that the ship is in danger, which means the loss of much important time for search and rescue work."
He adds that as the ship overturned quickly, there was hardly time for passengers to react.
With the fact that the passengers on board were mainly seniors, it would have been difficult for these people to save themselves, given the circumstances. Investigators have not yet reached a conclusion regarding the cause of the disaster, while Chinese authorities have pledged transparency(透明) in the ongoing probe.
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