The death toll from a Chinese cruise ship which capsized during a storm in the Yangtze river jumped to 396 on Saturday.
Disaster teams have found hundreds more bodies on Friday night and Saturday morning after pulling the overturned river cruise boat upright with cranes and gradually raising it up from the gray currents of the river.
Only 14 survivors, one of them the captain, have been found after the ship carrying 456 overturned in what officials called a freak tornado on Monday night.
The death toll from the disaster stood at 103 on Friday as authorities commemorated successfully lifting the wreckage from the water.
The boat operator apologised for the disaster and said it would cooperate with investigations.
Rescuers are searching the cabin of the ship, which was righted on Friday, looking for more bodies, the official People’s Daily, wrote on its microblog.
Jiang Zhao, general manager of the company which operated the Eastern Star, bowed in apology for the disaster during an interview with state media reported late on Friday, saying it would “fully” cooperate with the investigation.
Beijing has pledged there would be “no cover-up” in the probe. Police have detained the captain and chief engineer for questioning.
An initial investigation found the ship was not overloaded and had enough life vests on board.
More than 1,000 family members have come to Jianli in the central province of Hubei, where the ship went down, with many expressing frustration at a lack of information from the government.
They accused the government of “inhumane” treatment of bereaved families and many complained they had been spied on and had their movements curtailed by officials who appear nervous at the possibility of unrest.
Reuters and AP contributed to this report
