Chinese cruise sinking very rare weather phenomenon: Probe

BEIJING: One of China's worst shipping tragedies in which nearly 450 people were drowned in the mighty Yangtze river in June was caused by heavy storms during "extreme weather", an official probe said today.

The four-storey ship named Eastern Star capsized in Asia's longest river Yangtze in central China on June 1 in which 442 people, mostly retired Chinese holidayers, were killed.

The probe team commissioned by the Chinese government concluded that the incident was "an extraordinarily serious disaster" caused by strong winds and heavy rains resulting from a squall line accompanied by a downburst, a very rare weather phenomenon, the official report released today said.

Eastern Star encountered the squall line during a trip from Nanjing to Chongqing on the night of June 1 and a downburst, instead of a tornado reported previously, produced strong winds that overturned the vessel, the report said.

In a very short time, winds reached level 12 to 13 on the Beaufort scale while rainfall rose to 94.4 millimeters per hour, forcing the ship to capsize within just over a minute, the report said.

The captain who swam to safety took measures to stabilise the vessel but the wind force was more than double the maximum level the ship could take, the report said.

The ship's capability to resist wind pressure conforms to regulations but was not strong enough to stand the extreme weather, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Investigators analysed weather satellite, radar and ground monitoring data, aerial photos and interviews of witnesses.

The government set up a 60-member strong investigation team to probe the shipwreck. Only 14 people survived including the Captain who along with chief engineer swam to the shore claiming that the vassal sank after hit by a freak tornado.

The probe team, headed by Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, is comprised of specialists in meteorology, ship design and manufacturing, shipping safety, IT and law.

The probe team investigated the conditions at the time of the Eastern Star's sinking, the structure and retrofitting of the ship, its fitness to sail and sailors' responsibility, and shipping safety supervision on the Yangtze River, among other aspects.

The ship was on an 11-day trip along the Yangtze with 456 people onboard when it capsized on June 1.

The 6,300 kms-long Yangtze river is the longest river in Asia. It is the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country.