Learning lessons of deadly river accident is a must

Rescuers take a rest on the bank where Eastern Star, the passenger ship that capsized during freak weather, is berthed in the section of Jianli on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province, June 6, 2015. The death toll from the Chinese cruise ship that capsized and sank on the river had climbed to 406 as of 6 pm Saturday. Only 14 people have been found alive so far, while another 36 people remain missing. The Eastern Star was carrying 456 people on an 11-day trip along the river when disaster struck on Monday night. [Photo/IC]

Our deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the more than 400 passengers who lost their lives in the Yangtze River tragedy on Monday evening.

Sunday, the seventh day after their deaths, according to Chinese tradition, is the day for a ceremony to mourn them.

The fact that most of the passengers on board were elderly people who were on an organized sight-seeing tour along the river has added to the sense of tragedy. They should have been talking to their daughters and sons or grandchildren about how much they enjoyed their tour after the cruise ship arrived in Chongqing. Instead their relatives are deep in sorrow and regretting letting their parents or grandparents set out on their trip of no return.

All the rescuers have tried their best, and they deserve praise for their efforts in such difficult circumstances, but it was beyond what they could do to save more lives.

So while we are mourning the dead and share the grief of their relatives, it is equally important to reflect on the what-ifs that may have enabled the cruise ship to avoid such a tragedy.

It was reported that the severe storm that is believed to be the ultimate cause of the tragedy was reported in advance; another ship was reported to have avoided the disaster by pulling into a port and staying there. Should the captain of the Eastern Star have done the same? It is easy to answer in the affirmative with hindsight, but was he aware of the likely severity?

The top authorities have required that the accident be investigated as thoroughly as possible without letting anything questionable or doubtful slip by without being probed.

It is possible that the investigation will find no one did anything wrong and it is just an accident that could not have been avoided given the current rules for travelling on the river.

Yet, there are things that can be done to make it safer for cruise ships to sail on the river in extreme weather conditions. For example, it can be made mandatory that ships to stay at the nearest port when there is the forecast of a storm with gale force winds.

Learning the lessons of this tragedy to avoid a similar accident in the future should be the top priority for the investigation, which needs to be transparent to restore confidence in the industry and to let the relatives know what happened on that terrible night.