DHAKA: A total of 331 people are now known to have died after a ship overturned in a storm in China’s Yangtze River last Monday.

China state media said, reports the BBC.

Salvagers righted the Eastern Star on Friday after officials said chances of finding anyone alive were slim.

Just 14 of the 456 passengers and crew are known to have survived. More than 100 are still missing.

The tragedy looks set to be China’s worst shipping disaster in more than 60 years of Communist rule.

Hundreds of the bodies were discovered after emergency workers righted the ship with cranes and raised it above the river’s currents.

Hooks were welded onto the ship and a net stretched around the entire structure in order to lift it.

By first light on Friday, the ship could be seen lying on its side with its name visible just above the water. Xinhua state news agency later tweeted a picture of the righted vessel, its roof apparently crushed.

Officials said there had been no further signs of life inside the ship, Xinhua news agency reports.

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised a thorough investigation into the cause of the disaster, after angry relatives protested at the scene.

Authorities tightly controlled access to the site, leading family members and journalists to complain about a lack of information.

BDST: 1400 HRS, JUN 06, 2015
RR