Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024

22 Dead as Tug Capsizes in Eastern China

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

January 17, 2015

A total of 22 people were confirmed dead after a tugboat with 25 onboard sank on the Yangtze River in east China's Jiangsu Province on Thursday afternoon.

Rescuers found the body of the last missing person in the tug's cockpit at around 2pm Chinese Time according to the Jiangsu Maritime Safety Administration (JMSD). 
 
The 30-meter-long tugboat, the "Wanshenzhou 67", was extracted from the depths on Saturday morning, 40 hours after it sunk in Fubei Channel, near Jingjiang City.
 
The boat was on a test voyage in the river's Fubei Channel in Jiangsu province when it suddenly turned over.
 
Meanwhile, three people have already been rescued and one person remains missing, emergency officials said, adding that eight foreigners were among those on board, including people from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and India.
 
"Only the two of us were in the cabin. We had just finished the load test of the boat's main engine when the vessel suddenly turned on its side. Water entered the boat cabin very quickly, in less than 20 seconds it was completely filled with water," survivor Wang Zhenkai said.
 
The 368-ton ship was built by Anhui Bengbu Shenzhou Machinery Co. Ltd.
 

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week