2015年CRI 长江倾覆客轮确认432人遇难

The search area for the final missing people extends downriver from the site of the shipwreck¹.

You Xigui, director of Hubei provincial² transport department, says search teams are still working 24/7.

"Some passengers remain missing after the Eastern Star was hoisted³ from the water upright. We issued an emergency notice yesterday afternoon, assembling police patrol vessels⁴, civilian⁵ ships and more than 260 people to search the downstream waters along the Yangtze River. We have also set up 69 stations in the ports along the river for garrison⁶ and searching. Now the around-the-clock search operation is underway."

A ceremony was held on the banks of the Yangtze River Sunday morning to commemorate⁷ those who lost their lives.

Hundreds of those who took part in the rescue operations, standing⁸ alongside the grieving relatives of the victims, observed three-minutes of silence in tribute to the over 400 people who lost their lives last Monday.

The solemn ceremony is part of Chinese tradition, which calls for a period of mourning a week after a tragedy takes place.

Meanwhile, local authorities have also sped up forensic⁹ analysis to identify the bodies retrieved¹⁰ from the sunken ship.

Guo Tangyin, deputy head of the Hubei police, says teams are now matching DNA¹¹ samples.

"A lot of bodies were recovered and brought to the surface after the ship was hoisted upright from the water on June 5. We had organized 21 teams for the non-stop work. The workers disinfected and transported the bodies. They also took samples from the bodies and matched samples to confirm the identities. So far, the teams have completed tests on 412 dead bodies and taken blood samples from 434 family members."

With the rescue work drawing to a close, more people are starting to wonder what caused the fatal accident.

You Qinghuam, with Shanghai Maritime¹² University, believes a relatively¹³ longer alarm response time was the major reason that only 14 people survived.

"Firstly, the signal for help was not sent out this time. It takes too long to receive the message that the ship is in danger, which means the loss of much prime time for search and rescue work. This is the main reason that only 14 have survived. Secondly¹⁴, the ship has neither VDR - a black box - nor an automatic alarm system. This is another major flaw of inland ships. If there are black boxes and automatic alarm systems, the alarm response time would be much shorter."

He adds that as the ship overturned quickly, there was hardly time for passengers to react.

With the fact that the passengers on board were mainly seniors, it would have been difficult for these people to save themselves, given the circumstances.

Investigators¹⁵ have not yet reached a conclusion regarding the cause of the disaster, while Chinese authorities have pledged transparency in the ongoing¹⁶ probe.

The ship's captain is currently under investigation¹⁷ amid questions about why the ship didn't drop anchor after storm alerts reportedly went out just before the accident took place.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

1 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。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

7 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

10 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

15 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》

16 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。

17 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。