Rescue workers transport the body of a victim of the capsized Eastern Star on Tuesday. [Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]

Xie Hailong never imagined his smoking habit, which his wife often complained about, would someday save his life.

On Monday evening, Xie, on a 12-day package tour with his wife, was invited by other passengers to play cards. But later the game was canceled and Xie decided to go to bed early.

He then went out to the deck for a cigarette since smoking was prohibited inside the cabin. His wife had already fallen asleep.

When he went back about 10 minutes later, the ship began to tilt.

"A huge stream of water propped me up and I couldn't control my body," Xie recalled, "but I thought to myself that I wanted to see the sky and had to get out." Xie grabbed a life ring as his body struggled to remain above water and put his feet in a plastic bucket. "I thought anything plastic should somehow be buoyant."

Later Xie found another survivor and the two were finally saved by a boat after hours of floating in the cold water and rain.

Xie called his son in Shanghai and told him "your mother is gone".

"The dead are dead and the survivors should go on living and make the most of every day," Xie said. He said he doesn't want to recall the experience any more, not even to his son.