Over 300 dead in China ship tragedy

331 people are known to have died after a ship capsized in a storm in China's Yangtze River last Monday, leaving 100 people still missing.

Just 14 survivors, including the ship’s captain and chief engineer, of the 456 people on board have been found.

Salvagers righted the Eastern Star on Friday after officials admitted that chances of finding any more survivors were slim.

Hundreds of the bodies were discovered after emergency workers righted the ship with cranes, raised it above the river's currents, welded hooks onto the ship and stretched a net around the entire structure in order to lift it.

Most of the 14 known survivors had jumped from the ship as it began to sink and three were rescued by divers from air pockets in the upturned hull.

On Friday, Xinhua state news agency tweeted a picture of the boat lying on its side, its roof apparently crushed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged a thorough investigation into the cause of the disaster, after angry relatives protested at the scene. Survivors have spoken of an intense storm that flipped the boat in minutes. The ship’s captain and chief engineer have since been detained.

Maritime agency records showed that Eastern Star was investigated for safety violations in 2013, and was held alongside five other vessels over safety concerns.

The shipwreck is set to be China's deadliest shipping disaster since the SS Kiangya sank off Shanghai in 1948, killing somewhere between 2,750 and 4,000 people.