Timeline: Ship carrying 458 people sinks in Yangtze River

Timeline

June 1

9:28 pm: Cruise ship Eastern Star capsizes in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in Hubei province. Four hundred fifty-six people were aboard－405 tourists, 46 crew members and five tour guides.

11:51 pm: Zhang Shunwen, the ship's captain, is rescued by a patrol boat, along with another person.

June 2

Early morning: Ministry of Transport starts its emergency response. A massive rescue campaign begins. Premier Li Keqiang arrives in Jianli to coordinate rescue efforts.

9:11 am: More than 1,000 paramilitary personnel from Hubei and Hunan provinces arrive at the scene.

Noon: Divers search for survivors.

1 pm: A 65-year-old woman is rescued after being trapped for nearly 17 hours.

6 pm: A total of 99 vessels and more than 400 personnel have arrived at the scene.

11:32 pm: Ministry of Public Security activates emergency response system.

June 3

1 am: Premier Li Keqiang holds meeting at rescue headquarters.

7:38 am: Search range is expanded to 220 km downstream.

11:43 am: Rescue headquarters designs two-step rescue plan to cut through the hull and right the ship.

4:30 pm: A total of 180 divers arrive at the scene to join the rescue and recovery effort.

9 pm: Cutting begins into ship's upside-down hull. No survivors are found.

June 4

Morning: President Xi Jinping convenes a special meeting of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, calling on rescuers to take all possible measures to save the injured. He urges an investigation into the cause of the incident.

10 am: Workers begin cutting a third hole in ship's hull.

6 pm: Rescue headquarters carries out the plan to right the capsized ship, as detection equipment fails to locate any signs of life.

June 5

12:26 am: Three of four cranes move into place to hoist the Eastern Star.

6:31 am: Lifting begins.

9:06 am: Ship is fully righted.

7:31 pm: Ship is lifted fully out of water. Recovery experts board to undertake further investigation.

9:21 pm: Workers conduct a thorough search.

June 6

9:18 am: Investigation is completed for three floors of the four-deck ship. Work continues on fourth deck, which had been seriously damaged.

June 7

9 am: Mourning ceremony is held in Jianli. Under Chinese tradition, the seventh day is a key occasion to mourn the passing of the dead.

6 pm: Death toll is set at 432. Ten remain missing.