Huge cranes hoist the capsized cruise ship Eastern Star from the Yangtze River on Friday afternoon. Photo: CFP

The capsized cruise ship Eastern Star was hoisted from the Yangtze River on Friday afternoon after being righted in the morning, as rescuers began a new round of searching on the ship.

The hoisting, which began at around 4 pm, lasted for almost three hours until the entire four-story hull was above the water's surface.

After pumping out the water beneath the deck, mechanic experts and epidemic prevention experts were set to go aboard the ship to check its structure and sterilize the hull to ensure safety. Rescue teams were prepared to start a new round of search for possible survivors and retrieve bodies of victims who were trapped in cabins, said Xu Chengguang, spokesperson of the Ministry of Transport.

Rescuers would also focus on searching the area under the ship and continue to comb through an extended area in the Yangtze River for potential survivors, said authorities.

As of 9:30 pm, the death toll of the shipwreck has climbed to 103 confirmed victims, with 339 still missing. Only 14 survivors have been found, China Central Television reported.

The authorities decided to overturn the ship on Thursday night based on the judgment that chances of finding more survivors were slim following three days of combing through the ship underwater.

Fifty divers worked overnight Thursday to tie slings around the ship to prepare for the righting in the morning. One side of the 2,200-ton ship was hoisted by huge cranes on Friday morning.

Asked why the decision was made to overturn the ship first instead of directly hoisting it, Xiong Wei, a professor of maritime rescue with Dalian Maritime University, said that the weight of the capsized ship was unbalanced since water had flooded the cabin, which might cause the cranes to break while hoisting the ship unless drained first.

Xu said that oil leaking from the ship was found in the river water. Blankets have been placed to help contain it.

On the river bank, rescue soldiers carefully categorized and placed the victims' belongings that salvaged from the water.

Eastern Star was caught in a tornado and capsized at around 9:28 pm Monday in a section of the Yangtze River flowing through Jianli county, Hubei Province.

It carried 456 people on board, mostly tourists aged between 50 and 80, for a 11-day trip. The incident is believed to be China's worst maritime disaster in decades.

Rescuers categorize the belongings of passengers on Eastern Star salvaged from the waters on Friday on the river bank. Photo: Li Hao/GT

As of Friday, more than 1,400 family members of the passengers had arrived in Jianli. They were organized to provide blood sample for a DNA test to match with the victims.

Some family members of the dead or missing were escorted to the shore to watch the ship being righted and hoisted on Friday morning.

A total of 403 passengers booked the cruise tour with the Shanghai-based Xiehe Travel Agency, and 359 out of them bought the voluntary travel accident insurance policy. The policy offers compensation of 100,000 yuan ($16,120) for passengers younger than 75, while those older than 75 get 50,000 yuan, Tao Fei, general manager of the travel agency, was quoted as saying by China National Radio.

Jiang Zhao, legal representative of Chongqing Dongfang Shipping Company, which operates the Eastern Star and four other cruise ships on the Yangtze River, apologized for the accident Friday night.

The company has been ordered to conduct an examination on its shipping business.

On Thursday, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee met to discuss the rescue and how to handle the tragedy's aftermath. While the meeting, chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping, called on rescuers to "take all possible measures" to save lives, it also stressed Chinese leaders' determination to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident.

Some angry family members of the passengers entered a press conference in Jianli on Friday. In a joint letter, they called for thorough investigation into the cause of the accident, as local reports said other ships in the vicinity had dropped anchor after a warning of heavy storms, but the Eastern Star continued on, AFP reported. They also demanded the remains of their loved ones be returned.

Local residents in Jianli have been mobilized to join a volunteer campaign. Many taxi drivers and private car owners offered free car-riding services for the family members of the passengers. Local hotels also arranged free accommodation for them, while more than 3,000 students and their parents cancelled hotel bookings for the national college entrance examination during the weekend to make room for them, said local education authorities.

Xinhua contributed to this story