title: Understanding the Outcome in the Chinese Changjiang Disaster in 2015: A Retrospective Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rescue after a maritime disaster remains a great challenge in emergency medicine.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We performed an overview of rescue efforts among the victims in the sunken cruise ship Eastern Star in the 2015 Changjiang River marine disaster, as well as possible preventive measures in maritime transport situations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The rescue records of 454 victims of the sunken ship were analyzed retrospectively. Their demographic data, rescue effects, accident inducement, and injury disposition were reviewed. A thorough analysis from the point of view of maritime traffic safety was also performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 454 victims, 442 (97.36%) were killed and only 12 (2.64%) survived. The survivors were classified based on their gender, rescue type, and rescue spot as follows: male (91.67%), female (8.33%); tourists (50.00%), and ship staff (50.00%), after the breakdown of the rescue spot in Jianli, Hubei province, China. The survivors were saved only during the initial 17 h after the disaster. The survivors suffering from somato- and psychotrauma were urgently treated for limb injuries, infections of the upper respiratory tract and lungs, fluid and electrolyte imbalance, and acute traumatic stress. This incident was the most severe maritime disaster since the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, due to the large number of elderly victims, fast overturning speed, and severe weather.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Emergency rescue requires more automated and intelligent systems for maritime safety. An increased focus must be placed on public welfare and ethics, with the goal of influencing more prosocial behavior rather than the pursuit of profit.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ce
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Fourth Department of Research, Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, P.R. China; International Traffic Medicine Association, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
authors.forename: Zhengguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D055866:Earthquakes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018635:Rescue Work / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012767:Ships / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: emergent rescue; traffic accident; trauma and injury