Bad weather is hampering a desperate hunt for hundreds of survivors of a ferry that capsized during a storm on the Yangtze River, central China.

More than 400 people are still missing from the Chinese cruise ship, despite rescuers extracting three more passengers on Tuesday night (AEST) after hearing screaming and calls for help from inside the ship’s hull.

Distraught relatives of some of the 458 on board said they were angered by lack of information from officials, the Xinhua news agency reported.

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Rescuers have so far saved 14 people the Eastern Star, and seven bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the four-deck ship.

A woman is helped after being pulled out by divers from the sunken ship cabin. Photo: ABC

Strong currents and murky water combined to make testing conditions for hundreds of rescue workers in Jianli County, south of Beijing.

Overnight Tuesday pouring rain made rescue efforts more difficult.

Xinhua reported it was a miracle rescue teams plucked anyone from the surging Yangtze waters, with some survivors using air trapped in the sunken ship to stay alive.

State broadcaster CCTV showed rescue workers carrying an elderly woman on a stretcher who was covering her face.

The Xinhua news agency said a 65-year-old woman was pulled from the boat on Tuesday afternoon, and CCTV described her as in “good physical condition”.

The cause of the deadly incident remains unknown.

Tales of survival

Hundreds of passengers on a Chinese ferry which capsized during a storm had little warning before disaster struck, according to a state-media interview with a survivor.

Tour guide Zhang Hui “had 30 seconds to grab a life jacket,” before the ship overturned in China’s mighty Yangtze river during a storm Monday night, the Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Many of the ship’s passengers had gone to bed for the night as lightening streaked the sky and rain

Rescuers extract a passenger from the river. Photo: ABC

pounding against the ship, seeping through windows and into their cabins, Mr Hui said.

He said passengers began taking soaked quilts and TV sets into the ship’s hall on Monday, in what appeared to be an attempt to keep the items dry.

Within minutes the ship’s tossing rapidly became more violent, with the vessel tilting as much as 45 degrees, sending bottles rolling across tables, Mr Hui added.

The 43-year old and a colleague “grabbed everything they could reach and kept their heads above water” as the ship sank, Xinhua reported.

The ship reportedly went down in less than one minute.

Tossed around in wind and heavy rain, Mr Hui said he could not swim but survived for several hours thanks to his life jacket, eventually drifting onto reeds and pulling himself to shore as dawn broke.

He was eventually discovered and taken to a hospital.

– with ABC/AAP