442 final toll in Chinese ship capsize

The final toll in the capsize of cruise ship Eastern Star in the Yangtze river reached 442 on Saturday, as bodies of the last missing people were found, officials said.

Only 12 people survived the disaster on the night of June 1, Tang Guanjun, director of the Yangtze River Navigation Affairs Administration, told a press briefing.

Earlier, 456 people were reported onboard the cruise ship and 14 survived.

Tang explained that the final revisions were made after further check-ups and verifications.

He said rescuers from various agencies made repeated calculations of the number of survivors, Xinhua news agency reported.

All the dead were identified after DNA tests and the bodies handed over to their relatives, Tang said. A total of 426 bodies were cremated by Saturday afternoon.

Rescue and search operations have ended, but the investigation into the accident was still under way, he said.

The Eastern Star, with 403 tourists, 46 crew members and five travel agency staff aboard, was on an 11-day trip along the Yangtze river when it was overturned by a tornado on the night of June 1.

The 76.5-metre vessel was in service for nearly 20 years and could carry up to 534 people. It went through annual maintenance in late 2014, and was qualified to cruise until April 25, 2016.