Scores of divers cautiously searched a cruise ship in the Yangtze River on Wednesday for more than 400 missing people, many of them elderly, as the death toll in what could be China's worst shipping disaster in almost 70 years jumped to 18, Reuters reported. State television showed rescuers, some standing gingerly on the upturned hull of the Eastern Star, working through the night. Only 14 people, including the ship's captain, have been found alive since the ship capsized in a freak tornado on Monday night with 456 people on board. Rescuers appear not to have given up hope, even though about 200 divers face difficulties such as cabin doors blocked by tables and beds. There is also the fear that rashly cutting holes in the hull could burst air pockets keeping people alive. "We're putting all our efforts into the rescue work," naval commander Hui Dongyan told the official Hubei Daily. The ship was on an 11-day voyage upstream from the city of Nanjing, near Shanghai, to Chongqing.
