10 people are dead after two sightseeing ships in Guizhou, China, capsized Sunday afternoon. According to Xinhua News Agency, a sudden strong wind caused the accident, dumping 84 passengers and staff into the Liuguang River waters of the Wujiangyuan Baili Gallery. 4 were pulled from the river without injury and 70 are currently hospitalized without life-threatening conditions. The final victim was found with no vital signs following a nearly 24 hour search around noon on Monday.
A tourist who witnessed the event said that, after the weather suddenly turned, raining heavily with low visibility, the captain and staff of the boat asked everyone to open the windows to reduce wind resistance while they tried to tether the ship to the riverbed. The witness reported that after the rain stopped, only the hull of one of the capsized boats was visible and rescuers quickly arrived at the scene one after another.
The incident took place during the five-day May Day holiday, a popular time for travel across the Guizhou province. As reported by AFP, local governments have been advised to improve public safety over public holidays but accidents have continued to occur, including a previous Guizhou boat capsize in December killing 8 and a sightseeing helicopter crash in Suzhou killing 1 and injuring 4 just last Friday.
On the evening of the accident, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that every effort would be made to search for and rescue the victims, treat the wounded, and properly handle the aftermath.