China mourns Yangtze shipwreck victims as search continues

Ship horns wailed as hundreds of people gathered in the drizzle Sunday to mourn the victims of the Eastern Star disaster.

周日，毛毛细雨中，船舶鸣笛，数百人悼念东方之星沉船遇难者。

More than 500 rescue workers and government officials at the site bowed their heads during a three-minute silence Sunday, the seventh day since the ship capsized with the loss of more than 430 souls. According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day is a key occasion to mourn the passing of the dead.

周日是遇难者头七，现场500多名搜救人员和政府官员为430多名逝者默哀三分钟。按中国传统惯例，人死后第7天是非常重要的时刻。

At around 9 am, following an announcement from Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang, rescue workers stopped what they were doing and removed their hats to face the salvaged vessel.

上午9时许，交通部长杨传堂下达通知，搜救人员停下手中工作，面向打捞出的沉船脱帽默哀。

They set up a table with candles and chrysanthemums on the large crane vessel that dragged the ship from its muddy grave Thursday night.

他们在打捞沉船的吊车上摆了张桌子，点上蜡烛，放上菊花。周四晚上，正是这个大吊车将东方之星打捞出泥潭。

"We are all here with families of victims to go through the pain of losing their loved ones with them," rescue diver Guan Dong said.

“我们与逝去亲人的遇难者家属同在，为他们分担忧伤，”救援潜水员关东说道。

Families of the victims prayed for their loved ones on the riverbank or in their hotels.

遇难者家属在江边或宾馆中为他们的亲人祈祷。

On the riverbank, Guan Yuan, the daughter of a couple lost in the tragedy, held a picture of her parents, allowing them to take a last glimpse of their unfinished trip. The first long trip her parents took after retirement turned out to be their last. "My parents rarely travelled to save money for my education," she said.

关源在此次事故中失去了双亲，她在江边抱着父母的照片让他们最后再看一眼还未走完的旅程。此次旅行是父母退休以后第一次长途旅行，但也是最后一次了。“为了供我上学，父母很少旅行，”她说道。

On the day before they boarded the ship, her mother sent her an email asking her to hurry her towards marriage, saying how willing she was to look after grandchildren.

就在父母上船的前一天，她的妈妈还给她发了一封邮件，催她赶快结婚，还说自己非常想抱外孙。

"I wish this was a nightmare, but nothing happens when I wake up," Guan said.

“我真希望这只是场噩梦，等我醒了，什么都没有发生。”关说道。

On the riverbank, relatives of the victims lit candles, threw bouquets of chrysanthemums into the river, and called out the names of the lost.

遇难者家属在江边点起了蜡烛，并将菊花花束扔到江里，呼唤逝去亲人的名字。

People are grieving and mourning the victims online too. "Hopefully there is no storm and horror in heaven. Hopefully those who are alive will understand better the meaning of life," read one comment online.

网友们也自发为遇难者哀悼。“希望天堂没有暴风雨和恐惧。希望活着的人能理解生命的意义，”一网友这样写道。

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来源:ChinaDaily官网爱语吧作者:孙梦光