A branch of Jianli maritime department rescued a total of seven survivors from the Eastern Star cruise ship that capsized on the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province on Monday night.
One of the seven, 35-year-old travel agent Jiang Geng, recalled the accident and his lucky rescue.
"I was collecting my things in my room at around 21:00 and then suddenly the ship capsized and water poured in beneath my feet. I then climbed up along with one of my colleagues," Jiang said.
He then grabbed a life jacket, put it on, and jumped into the river.
The captain of a nearby ship saw the capsized vessel and contacted the local maritime department, while also beginning the rescue.
An official from the maritime department, Xia Yong, said that the weather was bad, with high winds and heavy rain, and their boats were rocking on the waves.
He added that the rescue boats had to move slowly to ensure their own safety due to the weather conditions and low visibility, while using searchlights to look for survivors floating in the water.
"We threw out a rope to the two [survivors] and dragged them over to the stern as we turned off the boat's engine. They were too tired to climb aboard the boat by themselves. So I came down to the step and pulled them up into the boat," said Xia.
A local resident rescued Jiang after he drifted in the water for hours. He was then transferred to a maritime department patrol boat that took him to shore.
"I sat in the boat and heard the patrol boat repeating, 'the Eastern Star has capsized, all nearby vessels should spare no effort in searching for and rescuing survivors.' And then our boat headed to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River with searchlights shining into the water," said Jiang.
Local fire and medical staff also rushed to the accident site.
"We then called all the staff in our department, doctors, nurses, and drivers, to come to the hospital and we departed in the rain at 00:30. Three ambulances followed us heading to the Xinzhou deepwater wharf near the accident scene," said Ma Guohua, director of the emergency department of the People's Hospital of Jianli County.
The seven survivors are currently in stable conditions in the hospital.
"I want to give my deep thanks to the maritime department as well as the medical staff. I could not have recovered so quickly without their care," said Jiang. More on: [ Ссылка ]
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