Yangtze cruise ship disaster: China completes DNA collection to identify victims

China has reportedly finished collecting the DNA of the 432 bodies retrieved from last week's cruise ship disaster on River Yangtze. The samples will be used for identifying the victims of the disaster.

Only 14 survivors, including the captain, have been found so far after the Eastern Star, carrying 456 passengers, many of who were elderly tourists, capsized in bad weather last week, reported the BBC.

The vessel was raised and righted on Friday, allowing rescue teams to clear away debris and break cabin doors to look for the missing passengers. The search area has also been extended to 1,300 kilometres of the Yangtze for victims who may have been swept away beyond the accident site.

The heavy death toll has made the disaster China's worst maritime accident since 1948, when an estimated 4,000 people were killed after the SS Kiangya sank near Shanghai.