Ten people died and 70 were injured after four tour boats capsized on Sunday in Qianxi, Guizhou province, due to strong winds.
According to the accident command center, at about 4:40 pm a sudden gust of wind swept the Liuguang River in a local scenic area, capsizing the boats and throwing 84 passengers into the water. The Liuguang is part of the upper Wujiang River, itself a tributary of the Yangtze.
President Xi Jinping urged on Sunday all-out efforts to rescue the missing and treat the injured. Xi also instructed that steps be taken to decisively put a stop to frequent accidents, with a focus on tourist attractions, large public venues, residential communities and the transportation sector.
As of Monday morning, rescuers had located a total of 83 people, with 70 receiving hospital treatment for injuries, four escaping. The last victim was found at noon on Monday with no vital signs.
The 70 people rescued from the capsized pleasure boats were treated for minor injuries at Qianxi People's Hospital.
Investigators found that two of the boats - each certified for 40 passengers - were operating within capacity. The other two boats were tied up at the dock, with a total of seven crew members aboard. One operating boat carried 38 tourists and two crew, and the other carried 35 tourists and two crew.
Almost 500 rescue workers joined the effort, and all of the survivors were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where provincial medical teams provided care.
By Sunday night, the provincial fire and rescue department had deployed 83 divers and 16 underwater robots to search for any remaining victims.
Xu Lin, Party secretary of Guizhou, and Li Bingjun, the provincial governor, arrived at the scene along with other senior officials to oversee the emergency response.
They ordered that saving lives should be the top priority, urged teams to race against the clock in searching for those still in the water, and stressed the importance of using scientific rescue methods, ensuring operational safety, and providing support and comfort to the victims' families.
According to China Central Television, a tourist who escaped on another boat said the weather had seemed calm and clear, with no warning signs before the accident.
In fact, the city's meteorological bureau issued a yellow alert, the second level in China's four-tier warning system, for thunderstorms and strong winds at 3:04 pm on the day of the accident. The alert warned that gusts could exceed force eight on the Beaufort scale over the next six hours, according to the China Meteorological Administration's alert platform.
To bolster the rescue operation, the Guizhou Meteorological Service entered special service status at 9:30 pm on Sunday. All relevant agencies and local meteorological bureaus were instructed to strengthen weather monitoring, maintain 24-hour duty rosters, keep emergency communications open, and ensure timely meteorological support.
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