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22 dead after tug boat capsizes on China's Yangtze river

The vessel was raised 40 hours after it sank while undergoing testing in the eastern province of Jiangsu
The vessel was raised 40 hours after it sank while undergoing testing in the eastern province of Jiangsu

Twenty-two people including eight foreigners have been confirmed dead after a tug boat sank on a trial voyage on the Yangtze, China's longest river.

The vessel was raised this morning, 40 hours after it sank while undergoing testing in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

There were 25 people aboard the vessel when it capsized on Thursday afternoon.

Three survivors were pulled out by rescuers, whose efforts were complicated by strong currents and icy temperatures.

The final body was retrieved today, maritime officials said. All those on board the 30-metre vessel were men.

A Singapore foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday that the vessel was registered in the city-state and four of its nationals were on board.

The Japanese and Indian consulates in Shanghai each said that one of their nationals had also been on board.

Xinhua cited local authorities as saying two others on board were from Malaysia and Indonesia.

"Water entered the boat cabin very quickly, in less than 20 seconds it was completely filled with water," survivor Wang Zhenkai told state television from his hospital bed.

Mr Wang was accompanying a Japanese technician who was testing the engine, though the ship was made and outfitted in China, reports said.

He survived by clinging to a hydraulic pump and said he had grabbed the Japanese engineer, but their grasp was broken as the boat began to sink.

The accident occurred on a stretch of the river between the cities of Jingjiang and Zhangjiagang, which is close to the Yangtze's mouth near the commercial hub of Shanghai.

The provincial government said the boat was undergoing trials without properly completing the required procedures and without first reporting the condition of the ship, as required by regulations.