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ByChristopherBodeen The Associated Press JIANLI, CHINA Chineseau- thorities deployed scores more divers and a large crane as they escalated ef- forts Wednesday to recover more than 410 people be- lieved to be trapped inside an overturned river cruise ship. The capsizing late Mon- day of the multi-decked Eastern Star in the Yangtze River is on track to become the country's deadliest mar- itime disaster in seven de- cades. Chinese authorities have launched a high-pro- file response while tightly controlling media coverage. Premier Li Keqiang, the country's No. 2 political leader, has traveled to the disaster site in the Hubei province county of Jianli where he urged "all-out," 24-7 efforts. Chinese state broad- caster CCTV said the bod- ies of 26 victims have been pulled from the boat, which floated with a sliver of its hull jutting from the grey river. Fourteen people sur- vived, some of them by swimming ashore and three by being pulled out of the ship by rescuers on Tuesday. But the vast majority of the 456 people on board re- main missing. Many were elderly tourists taking in the scenic vistas of the Yangtze on a cruise from Nanjing to the southwest- ern city of Chongqing. Records from a maritime agency show the capsized ship was cited for safety vi- olations two years ago. Au- thorities in Nanjing held the ship and five other Yangtze cruise vessels after it found them violating standards during a safety inspection campaign in 2013, accord- ing to a report on the city's Maritime Safety website. It didn't specify the Eastern Star's violations. The shallow-draft boat, which was not designed to withstand as heavy winds as an ocean-going vessel can, overturned in what Chinese weather author- ities have called a cyclone with winds up to 80 mph (130 kph). "The river ships tend to have a lower standard on wind-resistance and wave- resistance than ocean ships," Zhong Shoudao, president of the Chongqing Boat Design Institute, said at a news conference along with weather and Trans- portation Ministry officials. "Under the special circum- stance of cyclone, the pres- sure on the one side of the boat went beyond the stan- dard it was designed for, re- sulting in the overturning of the boat. "The boat had lifejackets and lifeboats, but due to the sudden capsizing, there was not enough time for people to put on lifejackets or for the signals to be sent out," Zhong said. The squad of 13 navy divers who searched the boat Tuesday — and pulled out three trapped survi- vors from air pockets after voices were heard through the hull — was expanded Wednesday to 202, includ- ing 45 from civilian res- cue services. They were working in shifts virtually around-the-clock as part of a last-ditch attempt to find survivors, the last of which was found on Tuesday af- ternoon. CCTV said rescuers were deciding whether to cut into the overturned hull — an option that would imply hopes still lingered for find- ing survivors trapped in air pockets — or to bring two salvage ships to the stern and bow to act as a vise keeping the craft in place while a crane pulls it up- right. Transport Ministry spokesman Xu Chengguang said divers would search the ship for as long as possible. "Until all hope is lost and more accurate information becomes available, we will not give up on our final ef- forts, although I know that our colleagues at the scene are facing a great many dif- ficulties," Xu told reporters. Access to the site was blocked by police and para- military troops stationed along the Yangtze embank- ment. Local Communist Party officials and the Foreign Ministry organized a boat trip for about four dozen journalists to a location about 100 to 200 meters (yards) from the overturned hull, where they were able to see some of the rescue work, including two men in orange life vests stand- ing on the overturned hull. The disaster has drawn considerable attention in Asia, and globally, and the tour was a way for normally reticent Chinese authorities to accommodate foreign media requests for access. DIVERS, CRANE Ch in a es ca la te s eff or t to r ec ov er m is si ng f ro m sh ip CHINATOPIX Rescue workers walk on the hull of a capsized cruise ship on the Yangtze River in Jianli in central China's Hubei province Tuesday. By Aritz Parra The Associated Press BEIJING China's capital be- gan imposing the country's toughest ban on smoking in public places Monday in hopes of stemming a loom- ing health crisis in a soci- ety where smoking remains a nearly ubiquitous part of dining, social events and life in general. Smoking in Beijing is now prohibited in all in- door public places, includ- ing offices, shopping malls and airports, as well as at outdoor stadiums, school grounds and public parks. Beijing's main airport ter- minal will close its three smoking rooms. Fines for violators have been raised to 200 yuan ($32), up from the 10 yuan ($1.60) charged under the former partial ban, and for the first time owners of res- taurants and other busi- nesses are responsible for ensuring compliance and can face fines up to 10,000 yuan (about $1,600) if they fail to do so. While members of the public generally expressed support for the ban Monday, it remained to be seen how uniformly the rules would be heeded and enforced. "Of course (smoking) in- fluences our health be- cause secondhand smok- ing is more damaging than smoking," said Xu Jiawen, a housewife and the mother of a 4-month-old baby. "I think it's best for everyone to stop smoking in public places." The World Health Orga- nization says that 300 mil- lion Chinese smoke, includ- ing about half of all men, and that 740 million Chi- nese are exposed to sec- ondhand smoke. The group says lung cancer kills more than 1.3 million people in the country each year — a third of the global total. Other cities have issued partial smoking bans and cigarette sales to minors are technically forbidden, although enforcement has been spotty at best. China had long been re- luctant to fully crack down on smoking, partly because of the tax revenue that ciga- rette sales bring in. But of- ficial attitudes have evolved along with the realization that public health costs far outstrip tobacco's contribu- tion to the public purse. Amid worsening pol- lution and growing afflu- ence, cancer is now the leading cause of death in China, with lung cancer at the head of the list. Beijing, meanwhile, has been seeking to promote civ- ilized behavior on a par with its aspirations to become a major world capital. Smok- ing in public places is seen by many as a drag on quality of life, alongside complaints over heavy traffic, line-jump- ing and the city's notorious air pollution. While many restaurants appeared to be enforcing the new rules and more than the usual amount of people could be seen go- ing outside of buildings to smoke Monday, enforce- ment seemed to be non- existent at one downtown coffee shop, where smokers continued to puff away. World Health Organi- zation anti-smoking ex- pert Angela Pratt said that, if properly enforced, the smoking ban could help change the general accep- tance of smoking as routine. "That's what we have seen all over the world when strong smoke-free laws are adopted and there is strong enforcement effort. The so- cial norms changed," Pratt said. Tobacco shop owner Sun Jinhua said he expected the ban would cut into his business and convince more smokers to quit. "Many of my old custom- ers want to quit smoking because there is nowhere to smoke," Sun said. Along with the general tolerance of smoking, the habit is supported by low taxes that keep the price of cheaper brands at as little as $1 per pack. At around 43.4 percent, China's ciga- rette tax is almost 20 per- cent less than the rate in Ja- pan and Singapore, which have high rates of smoking. That helps keep Chi- na's smoking rates on the rise, especially among the young, although women are far less likely to smoke than men. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, more than 50 million cartons of cigarettes were sold in China last year, an increase of 37 percent over the pre- vious year. Xinhua also cited a study by the disease con- trol and prevention center of Beijing's Chaoyang Dis- trict that found cigarettes for sale within 100 meters (yards) of two-thirds of Bei- jing's 87 middle schools. Only 38 percent of shops selling cigarettes displayed signs banning sales to mi- nors, and inspectors who wore school uniforms while trying to buy cigarettes were blocked less than 20 percent of the time. LOOMING HEALTH CRISIS In a nation of smokers, Beijing bans lighting up indoors NG HAN GUAN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Square dance performers walk past anti-smoking banners displayed on the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium on World No Tobacco Day in Beijing on Sunday. 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