MV Dongfang zhi Xing (Chinese: 东方之星; pinyin: Dōngfāng zhī Xīng; translated as Oriental Star or Eastern Star) was a river cruise ship that operated in the Three Gorges region of inland China. On the night of 1 June 2015, the ship was traveling on the Yangtze River when it capsized during a thunderstorm in Jianli, Hubei Province, with 454 people on board. On 13 June, 442 deaths were confirmed, with 12 survivors (including two rescued by officials). The passengers were mostly in their 60s and 70s, and mostly from Nanjing, where the ship started its cruise.
The final investigation concluded the ship navigated into a squall line (the biggest scale of thunderstorm) from 21:19 onwards, was blasted by a downburst (a form of windshear) from 21:26 to 21:32, capsized at 21:31, and sank at 21:32. The ship met gusts of 32–38 m/s (72-85 mph, equivalent to wind force scale of 12–13). The hourly rain was observed at 94.4mm.
The sinking is the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in China's history, and the worst maritime disaster (including wartime disasters) in China's history since the steamer Taiping sank in January 1949, killing more than 1,500.
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