China boat sinking casts pall over country's ship safety record


The sinking of a cruise boat on China's Yangtze River is likely to mar the country's generally clean maritime safety record, which hasn't suffered an incident of this magnitude since a passenger steamship blew up almost 70 years ago. The Eastern Star, which was carrying 458 people, capsized in a storm late on Monday, state media said, with those on board ranging in age from three to more than 80. Six bodies have been found and over a dozen people rescued, but more than 430 are still unaccounted for.