
Rescuers have recovered most of the bodies of those who perished after a cruise ship sank in the Yangtze River, Chinese local media reported Saturday.
The confirmed death toll rose to 396 after salvage workers, using two large cranes, righted the capsized vessel late Friday, the reported said.
The boat was hoisted and drained before rescuers continued the search for bodies inside, according the report.
Fourteen people were rescued shortly after the accident. Hopes of finding more people alive have since faded, leaving a likely total death toll of 442.
The Eastern Star was carrying 456 people on a river cruise from Nanjing in eastern China to the south-western city of Chongqing when it sank in Jianli, of Hubei province.
The captain, who survived the sinking along with the chief engineer, said the ship sank in a matter of seconds, but his account has not been verified.
Weather reports at the time of the accident noted the presence of a cyclone in the area as investigation into the cause of the accident continues.
Families of victims in ship sinking accuse officials of mishandling response

Paramilitary solders taking part in an operation transporting bodies of passengers aboard the capsized ship Eastern Star are seen at a crematorium where the bodies are taken, in Jianli, Hubei province, China.
Grieving relatives of the hundreds of people who died in the Yangtze River cruise ship disaster expressed growing frustration Friday at the lack of answers from officials over why the boat capsized during a storm and at the government’s attempts to muzzle their outrage.
Roughly 1,200 relatives of the missing have gathered in Jianli, the city closest to where the Oriental Star capsized this week with 456 people aboard. During a news conference Friday, several distraught family members burst into the room and demanded to speak to reporters before being ushered out by officials.
A number of victims’ relatives have described being trailed by government minders and instructed not to speak to journalists. And in a letter that family members distributed to reporters and that was posted online Friday by Phoenix News, based in Hong Kong, the relatives demanded that the bodies of victims be returned to them so they could be buried at home, rather than be cremated as rumored.
“We hope the bodies of our kin can be returned to us,” said the letter, which was later deleted online.
State news media reported that 97 bodies of the 442 still missing had been recovered by Friday morning, when crews using cranes and machinery righted the ship. By Saturday morning, Xinhua, the official news agency, said that the confirmed death toll had risen to 331, although it did not say whether all the bodies had been recovered. The report added that 111 people were still missing.
Chinese state television showed the Oriental Star’s top three decks emerging from the muddy river. A portion of its blue roof was crumpled, though it was unclear whether the damage occurred when it capsized or during efforts to right it.
Officials have not given foreign journalists access to any of the 14 people who managed to escape when the ship overturned Monday night, but Xinhua released interviews with several of the survivors, including the captain and chief engineer.
In an account published by Xinhua on Friday, Wu Jianqiang, a 58-year-old passenger described as an illiterate farmer from Tianjin, said he and his wife were in their cabin when rainwater began pouring through the windows.
He said an attendant began making the rounds, urging passengers to move their beds away from the windows and toward the doors to protect them from water damage. Moments later, he said, the ship began to tilt, and one of the beds slid, pinning his wife against a wall.
“I could feel my feet slipping from beneath me, but the bed I was on stayed in place,” he said, according to the English version of the article. “So I stretched out my hands to my wife, but our fingers never met.”
“Then the rug struck me on my head, and I knew the ship must have capsized,” he said.
With water surging into the cabin, Wu said, he made his way to the window, opened it and was sucked out. “It all happened within a minute,” he said.
He said he crawled onto the overturned hull of the ship, joining four other survivors. His wife was still missing Friday.
In an interview published by Xinhua late Thursday, the ship’s captain, Zhang Shunwen, 52, said he had tried to steer the ship through the violent storm but lost control as he headed north with the prevailing winds. As the wheelhouse filled with water, Zhang felt his way out and then made his way to the upturned hull, Xinhua said.
In the report, Zhang did not address a number of questions, including why he continued to sail when other ships had dropped anchor to ride out what meteorologists have described as an unusually severe storm, including a rare tornado.
Also unanswered was whether any passengers were instructed to don life jackets.
The report said that Zhang was in police custody but that he had not been charged with any crime. It said that Zhang’s wife, who also worked on the ship, was among the missing. “Until the incident, Zhang was regarded as an effective captain, and his experience as a sailor was flawless with numerous awards,” Xinhua said, adding that he had 35 years of experience as a riverboat captain.