CCTV9英语新闻：Search area now all 1,400 km of downstream Yangtze

The search area for the victims has been extended from the site of the capsizing to where the Yangtze River meets the sea in Shanghai, about 1,400 kilometers.

 

Police have also begun a thorough search along the banks of the river. The search teams have been using three intercept nets, five motorboats and ten steamboats to carry out the mission.

 

On Saturday, airborne People's Liberation Army troops scrambled two Z8 Transporters to the water near the wreck, to conduct search-and-rescue. Their search mission in the sky was extended from around 30 square kilometres to more than 100.

 

Two helicopters are ready to take off on Sunday, if the rain stops. They will search from the sunken scene to Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, which is about 200 kilometres away.

 

According to the Chinese National Meteorological Centre, the area is expecting moderate rain during the daytime today. From Sunday evening to early Monday, the area will likely have heavy rain accompanied by a rainstorm.