CRI听力:Capsized Ship Raised to Speed up Search for the Missing

Massive 500 tonne cranes hoisted the damaged hull of the Eastern Star that capsized with 456 passengers on board on Monday.

Over a thousand relatives. who had gathered on the riverbank, broke down in tears as the ship emerged from the murky waters of the Yangtze at about 6.50 PM on Friday evening.

Its smashed blue roof and twisted top-deck showed the extent of the damage caused by a freak tornado that made the ship turn upside down within minutes.

Many of the passengers on board were elderly Chinese tourists on a river cruise from Nanjing to Chongqing.

Only 14 people survived. Many of them had jumped off the ship as it began to sink. Three were rescued by divers from air pockets in the upturned hull.

But authorities say the chances of finding anyone still alive are "slim."

Rescue teams have now shifted their focus from attempting to find survivors to searching the ship's 150 cabins for the bodies of more than 300 people who are still missing.

Liu Xiaowu, Chief of Staff of the Guangzhou Military Area Command says the rescue team plans to complete the search inside the ship in seven hours.

"According to the plan for this phase, we will strive to finish the search within seven hours. As for the problem that some deceased might be washed away, the command center has made thorough plans. We have deployed search and rescue personnel along the river to prevent this from happening. There are also nets set along the river 200 meters, 500 meters, and 700 meters away from the accident site."

Over 500 medical workers have been deployed to carry out psychological counseling and epidemic prevention work in Jianli County, in Central China's Hubei province where the accident occurred.

Meanwhile, the Chongqing Dongfang Shipping Company, which owns the Eastern Star says it has ordered an internal inquiry into the safety record of its fleet in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Maritime agency records showed that the Eastern Star was investigated for safety violations two years ago. It was held alongside five other vessels in 2013 over safety concerns.

Shanghai based Xiehe Travels, the tour operator that organized the cruise has apologized for the delay in informing the relatives when disaster struck.

But Tao Fei, legal representative for the company says they had followed all the relevant safety procedures.

"Our tour agency was registered in Shanghai in 1997. We obtained all the required approvals for running a tour agency including a business permit, qualification code and taxpayer registration. We had gone through all the procedures."

The captain and chief engineer, however, have been detained by the police for questioning.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has called for a thorough investigation into the incident and has promised to make the findings public.

Forensic experts have now started identifying the bodies that are being recovered. Relatives are lining up to give DNA samples to help this identification process.

For the loved ones of those who perished in what is now set to become China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years, the long wait for answers has just begun.