Rescuers: Recovery of ship victims ‘gruesome’

JIANLI, China: Chinese military officials and soldiers Saturday described the grim task of removing hundreds of bodies from the salvaged wreckage of the capsized Eastern Star cruise ship, as busloads of families gathered on the banks of the Yangtze River to mourn the dead.

Authorities who had worked through the night said the search of the vessel had been completed. The confirmed death toll stood at 406. Fourteen people survived Monday night’s accident, and 36 people remain unaccounted for.