Jianli, China - Relatives of passengers missing after a Chinese cruise ship capsized expressed agony and anger on Friday after an official admitted there is no hope of finding more survivors.
Just 14 of the 456 people -- mostly tourists aged over sixty -- who were on board the "Eastern Star" when it overturned in a storm on Monday have been found alive.
A total of 97 have been confirmed dead, and floating cranes prepared to hoist the vessel where bodies of the more than 340 missing may still be trapped.
Rescuers decided to overturn the ship "on the general judgement that there is no possibility of survival," Xu Chengguang, a transport ministry spokesman, told a press conference late on Thursday.
He added Friday that the boat will be raised completely above the water's surface, allowing rescuers to search through it.
Gao Rufu, whose 62-year-old sister is among the dead told AFP: "I feel sad, so sad".
The possible death toll of 442 would make the sinking on the Yangtze river China's worst shipping disaster in nearly 70 years.
Rescuers used massive cranes Thursday night to right the Eastern Star at the site of the disaster in Hubei province's Jianli county.
Reports citing witnesses said the boat overturned in under a minute, and weather officials said a freak tornado hit the area at the time.
Daybreak images from state broadcaster CCTV showed the ship upright but with much of it still below water.
Lifting the 76.5 metre long (250 feet) and 2,200 tonne vessel is a delicate and risky operation that could destabilise the wreck.
AFP
