2015年CRI 长江倾覆客轮扩大搜救受害者

 

The death toll¹ from the sinking of the Eastern Star cruise ship rose sharply to over 400 on Saturday, after the upturned hull² was lifted out of the water.

Only 14 people survived the accident, while 36 remain missing.

Rescuers have extended their search scope to some 13-hundred kilometers from the sinking site downstream to the Wusong estuary³ in Shanghai.

Authorities say that over 250 boats and 25-hundred people will join the search operation that has already involved thousands of military and police personnel.

Liu Xiaowu, chief of staff of the Guangzhou Military Area Command, vows⁴ to continue the search operation for as long as it takes.

"All officers worked continuously for seven hours. Yesterday the civil authorities told us the victims' families have asked us to continue searching. So the command post ordered us to continue to conduct a 'blanket search' to rescue survivors⁵ and retrieve⁶ the remains⁷ of victims."

The Eastern Star was carrying 456 people on an 11-day trip when it was overturned by sudden, severe winds late on Monday.

On Saturday, an official representing the owner of the ship apologized to the families of the victims.

Jiang Zhao, general manager of Chongqing Eastern Shipping⁸ Company:

"I feel deep sorrow over this major incident. Firstly I want to express my sincere apologies to the victims of this incident and their families. I want to express my deep, deep thanks for the attention and concerns of people across the whole country have given this incident, and to express my deep thanks for the search and rescue efforts from across the country."

Meanwhile, more workers are rushing to assist in providing funeral services for the victims in Jianli County.

Zhang Shifeng, from the Ministry⁹ of Civil Affairs, says this aspect of the work in the aftermath of the disaster aims to let the deceased rest in peace and offer consolation¹⁰ to the victims' families.

"Now the authorities have intensified¹¹ the body retrieval work. Funeral service is facing heavy pressure caused by a lack of professional staff as more and more bodies are found. Three funeral parlors¹² in Hubei Province are working very hard. Meanwhile, we have transferred more staff members from other provinces. Staff members from Jiangsu, Shanghai and Tianjin have been dispatched to help in Hubei."

Efforts are also made to comfort the bereaved¹³ families.

Zhang says a working group has been formed to help the families let out their grief.

"The working group has taken effective measures to meet the families' wishes for mourning over their beloved ones claimed by the Yangtze River. The measures will be carried out in an orderly fashion. As for the families' wishes of holding memorial ceremonies, the working group will satisfy their needs in organized forms."

Zhang adds that related departments are researching on the issue of compensation for the victims' families.

Local authorities say they have basically finished extracting DNA¹⁴ from most of the family members who have arrived and that identification will be completed soon.

A mourning service has been scheduled for later this morning at the shipwreck¹⁵ site.

In a show of respect for the victims, China's major TV channels will suspend certain programs or advertisements that highlight celebrations for three days.

Investigators¹⁶ had not yet reached a conclusion regarding the cause of the disaster, while Chinese authorities have pledged transparency in the ongoing¹⁷ probe.

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

3 estuary   

n.河口，江口

参考例句：

• We live near the Thames estuary.我们的住处靠近泰晤士河入海口。
• The ship has touched bottom.The estuary must be shallower than we thought.船搁浅了。这河口的水比我们想像的要浅。

4 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 retrieve   

vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索

参考例句：

• He was determined to retrieve his honor.他决心恢复名誉。
• The men were trying to retrieve weapons left when the army abandoned the island.士兵们正试图找回军队从该岛撤退时留下的武器。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

11 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 parlors   

客厅( parlor的名词复数 )； 起居室； （旅馆中的）休息室； （通常用来构成合成词）店

参考例句：

• It had been a firm specializing in funeral parlors and parking lots. 它曾经是一个专门经营殡仪馆和停车场的公司。
• I walked, my eyes focused into the endless succession of barbershops, beauty parlors, confectioneries. 我走着，眼睛注视着那看不到头的、鳞次栉比的理发店、美容院、糖果店。

13 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

14 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

15 shipwreck   

n.船舶失事，海难

参考例句：

• He walked away from the shipwreck.他船难中平安地脱险了。
• The shipwreck was a harrowing experience.那次船难是一个惨痛的经历。

16 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。