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Families of Boat Victims Get Paid
While more than 1,000 rescuers Wednesday continued their search for passengers missing in a boat accident on last Thursday in Hejiang, Sichuan Province, victims' families have received an initial compensation.
Meanwhile, authorities say an overloaded boat is to blame for the wreck.
Each family of the passengers confirmed dead received an initial 6,000 yuan (US$725). The money came mainly from the now frozen 200,000-yuan (US$24,155) bank savings of the boat owner, Liang Rubin, and the 400,000 yuan (US$48,309) in compensation paid by China Life Insurance Co.
A week ago today, a ferry carrying 221 passengers capsized in heavy fog in Hejiang after striking a reef in the Yangtze River. By Wednesday, 90 passengers had been rescued and 103 bodies retrieved.
Since the boat was insued, each family received 4,000 yuan (US$483) from China Life Insurance Co. In addition, the Luzhou government and Hejiang county government offered each family an extra 1,000 yuan (US$121) for condolence.
The compensation was decided according to a Sichuan regulation on payments for the loss of lives in water accidents, said Chen Lisheng, director of the Hejiang county court.
The rest of the compensation will be decided according to a court ruling, he said.
Twelve children died in the accident. Five had taken out life insurance through the China Life Insurance Co. Hejiang Branch, and each of their families received 2,000 yuan (US$242) in compensation.
While families receive money, authorities are mulling the accident's cause, apparently overloading.
The sunken boat in Hejiang was designed to hold a maximum of 101 people. In the flood season, it was supposed to hold only 70, said Teng Fucai, deputy-director of the Safety Office of the Department of Labour in Sichuan.
"The crew should have stopped sailing because of heavy fog on the Yangtze,'' said a source at the Hejiang County Public Security Bureau.
The sunken boat, illegally transformed from a cargo transport, had often overloaded passengers. Pilot Zhou Yujin, who was unlicensed, had worked on the Yangtze for four years. A day before the accident, the boat passed an annual inspection by local departments in charge of shipping, said the public security source.
To prevent similar accidents, the Department of Communications in Sichuan yesterday decided to send 11 inspection teams to do a 30-day safety check of all bus stations, ports, wharves and transportation firms.
It also issued an emergency circular, asking that each bus station, port and wharf to ensure that each departing bus and boat comply with safety rules. Anyone violating the rules will be severely punished, it warned.
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