A survivor is saved from the overturned passenger ship in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei province June 2, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Li Yongjun, captain of Tonggonghua 666, said: "It was raining so badly that visibility was very bad. Even our radar did not work due to the rain."

"We were not able to save them in such bad weather. I shouted to them 'swim to the shore'," he said.

Relatives of the passengers onboard were gathered at the travel agency's outlet in Nanjing. Its doors remained shut throughout Tuesday, with just a notice asking people to contact the ship company for more information.

One of these relatives, Yuan, said her mother-in-law was on the tour with three of her friends. She heard about the accident on the Internet and despite being at the agency since 6 am had not found anybody to speak with.

The Nanjing Municipal Tourist Commission has placed the relatives of the ships' passengers in a local hotel and will take them to the scene of the incident.

The 76.5-meter ship can carry up to 534 people. Tickets for the cruise cost from 1,098 yuan ($177) to 2,298 yuan. Each room has air-conditioning, a private bathroom and TV.

Passengers are allowed to visit attractions during the daytime and return in the evening as the ship travels to the next port overnight. The agency arranging the tour marketed it toward senior citizen group travel.

On Monday, tourists visited Chibi (the Red Cliffs), a famous ancient battlefield. On Tuesday, the tourists were scheduled to visit Jingzhou City.