China mourns ship wreck as death toll rises and search continues

Ceremonies have been held to remember the hundreds of people who died in Monday's Chinese cruise ship disaster.

On Sunday the death toll rose to 431, with only 11 still missing as rescuers continue to sweep the Yangtze river.

Earlier, state television showed officials and rescuers bowing their heads towards the ship as nearby vessels sounded their horns.

More than 1,400 family members were expected to gather near the river for their own remembrance ceremonies.

The ship, the Eastern Star, capsized in a storm on Monday and was turned upright in an operation on Friday.

Why did cruise ship capsize?

Sunday marks the seventh day since the ship went down, the traditional Chinese date at which to mourn the dead.

Just 14 of the 456 passengers and crew are known to have survived, among them is the ship's captain.

The tragedy looks set to be China's worst shipping disaster in more than 60 years of Communist rule.

Distraught relatives remembered family members who perished

Rescuers took part in the ceremonies

On Friday, hooks were welded onto the four-storey ship and a net stretched around the entire structure in order to lift it by crane.

Most of the bodies retrieved were inside the vessel. Following the ship's raising, the death toll jumped by 200 people.

Rescuers are now sweeping a 1,300 km stretch of the river that extends from Jianli, Hubei Province where the ship capsized, to the port city of Shanghai.

At the time of the disaster, Chinese officials promised there would be "no cover-up" as to the cause of the disaster.

Family members have been provided with accommodation and medical services while Vice Premier Mai Kai met with some of the relatives.

Despite this, many of the grieving protested at the site of the crash, frustrated by the government's lack of information.

Authorities have tightly controlled access to the site, leading family members and journalists to complain.

The Eastern Star

• The 76m-long, 2,200-tonne ship was named Dongfangzhixing in Chinese
• It was carrying 405 passengers - mostly elderly tourists but also one three-year-old - as well as five travel agency employees and 46 crew members.
• The ship is owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation, and passengers had booked their trip through a travel agency in Shanghai.
• The cruise left the eastern city of Nanjing in April and was travelling to Chongqing in the south-west via the Three Gorges - a journey of at least 1,500km (930 miles).

The majority of those on board the ship were elderly tourists.

State spokesperson Hu Kaihong said DNA tests are being carried out on the retrieved bodies.

The 14 survivors jumped from the ship as it began to sink. Three were rescued by divers from air pockets in the upturned hull.

The cause of the sinking is not yet known, but survivors have spoken of an intense storm which flipped the boat over in minutes.

The captain and chief engineer, who were among those who escaped, have since been detained.

Relatives have started a petition calling for the captain to be executed.

The Eastern Star could become China's deadliest boat accident since the SS Kiangya sank off Shanghai in 1948, killing somewhere between 2,750 and 4,000 people.