Chinese cruise ship sinks
More than 200 divers combed a capsized Chinese ship in the Yangtze River looking for more than 450 missing people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists, when The Eastern Star sank in a heavy storm. Only 14 survivors, one of them the captain, have been found. A total of 103 bodies have been recovered.
The death toll climbed on Friday as authorities righted the battered vessel and turned their efforts to recovering bodies still on board amid simmering anger from distraught families.
In this photo, rescue workers stand on the river bank as The Eastern Star is pulled out of the Yangtze River at sunset in Jianli, China, June 5, 2015.
Chinese cruise ship righted
A rescue team works on lifting the capsized cruise ship The Eastern Star in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 5, 2015.
Chinese cruise ship righted
Rescuers stand by as the capsized cruise ship The Eastern Star is righted in the Yangtze River in China, June 5, 2015.
Chinese cruise ship righted
A rescue team works on righting the capsized cruise ship The Eastern Star in the Yangtze River in China, June 5, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
An aerial view shows rescue workers standing on the sunken cruise ship The Eastern Star in Jianli, Hubei province, China, June 4, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Relatives of a missing passenger from The Eastern Star cry along the banks of the Jianli section of Yangtze River in Hubei province, China, June 4, 2015.
Hundreds of relatives of passengers gathered in a public square in Jianli on Thursday clutching candles and flowers, as rescue officials began the arduous task of righting the vessel.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Candles burn during a vigil for the victims of the sunken ship in China's Hubei province, June 4, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Local residents take part in a candlelight vigil to pay their respects to victims of the sunken ship in Jianli, in China's Hubei province, June 4, 2015.
Distraught and angry relatives rushed to the site of the capsized cruise ship seeking news of their loved ones, as rescue workers recovered dozens of bodies.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim at the site where The Eastern Star capsized on Monday, in Jianli, Hubei province, June 4, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Students pray for passengers on the sunken cruise ship at a school in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, June 3, 2015.
Scores of divers cautiously searched a cruise ship in the Yangtze River on Wednesday for more than 400 missing people as the death toll in what could be China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years jumped to 18. The Chinese characters read "Pray for life", "Eastern Star".
Eastern Star
The sunken cruise ship Eastern Star is seen on the Yangtze River in this undated picture before it capsized in Jianli, Hubei province, China.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescuers carry bodies of the victims of the capsized Chinese cruise ship "Eastern Star" along the shore of the Yangtze River in Jianli, central China's Hubei province, June 3, 2105.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Paramilitary soldiers walk along the Yangtze River during their rescue work near the site of a capsized ship in Hubei province, China, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A rescuer stands next to the body of a victim of the capsized Chinese cruise ship, as rescue operations continue on the boat (top R) in Jianli, central China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Chinese paramilitary soldiers restricting onlookers gathered near the site of a capsized Chinese cruise in China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Here, a man is pulled out alive by divers and rescuers from the sunken ship at the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in Hubei province, China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A relative of a passenger - missing after a Chinese cruise ship capsized on the Yangtze river - wipes away tears as families gather at the disaster site in Jianli, in central China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
China pledged there would not be a cover-up in an investigation into the sinking of the cruise ship as angry families gathered near the rescue site to demand answers.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers pay a silent tribute to the victims (wrapped in yellow) of the capsized Chinese cruise ship in Jianli, China, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers and a capsized ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in China, June 3, 2015.
President Xi Jinping convened a special meeting of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee on Thursday to discuss the disaster, state news agency Xinhua said.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A relative of passengers on board the capsized ship Eastern Star being comforted is comforted by a man on the shore of the Yangtze River in Jianli, central China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
Relatives of more than 400 people missing after the cruise ship "Eastern Star" capsized in the Yangtze River gathered at the disaster site on June 4, as rescuers breached the hull in a last-ditch to rescue more of 400 people believed trapped inside.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescuers carry victims' bodies from the capsized ship Eastern Star in the Yangtze River in Jingzhou, China, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Local residents look at rescue operations for survivors of The Eastern Star in the Yangtze river in China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue personnel transport remains of victims from the capsized passenger ship The Eastern Star in the Yangtze river in China's Hubei province, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Workers prepare coffins for victims of the capsized ship at a funeral parlor in Jingzhou, China, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A family member of passengers on the sunken ship cries outside the closed office of Xiehe Travel in Shanghai, June 2, 2015.
Divers pulled an 65-year-old woman and two men from the hull of a passenger ship carrying 458 people that capsized on China's Yangtze River. Others could still be alive, state media said on Tuesday, in one of China's worst recent disasters.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A rescuer takes a break near his napping colleagues at a command center set up for rescue operations for passengers of a capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province Wednesday, June 3, 2015. Hopes dimmed Wednesday for rescuing more of the people still trapped in the capsized river cruise ship that overturned in stormy weather, as hundreds of rescuers searched the Yangtze River site in what could become the deadliest Chinese maritime accident in decades.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers are seen atop the sunken ship in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 3, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Divers help a 65 year-old woman to shore after she was pulled out from a sunken ship in Jianli, Hubei province, China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Medical workers rush an injured sailor, from the sunken ship in the Yangtze River, for treatment upon arrival at a hospital in Jingzhou, Hubei province, China, June 2, 2015.
Rescuers fought bad weather on Tuesday as they searched for more than 400 people, many of them elderly Chinese tourists, missing after a ship capsized on the Yangtze River in what was likely China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A relative of a missing passenger aboard a capsized cruise ship cries on the banks of the Yangtze River in Hubei province, China, June 3, 2015.
Scores of divers searched the capsized ship in the Yangtze River on Wednesday for more than 400 missing people, many of them elderly tourists, as the death toll in what could be China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years doubled to 14.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Chinese soldiers ride to the embankment after their search and rescue operation near a capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province, Tuesday, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
A rescue ship and aid workers are seen around a sunken ship in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue ships and workers are seen around a sunken ship in the Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers carry a body from the sunken ship in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers are seen atop a sunken ship in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers search the sunken ship in the Jianli section of Yangtze River, in Hubei province, China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescuers listen for sounds from inside a sunken ship as they search for survivors at the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
The sunken ship is seen in the Jianli section of Yangtze River in China, June 2, 2015.
Capsized Chinese cruise ship
Rescue workers listen for a response to their tapping on the hull of a capsized ship on the Yangtze river in China, June 2, 2015.