A luxury river cruise with 458 pπ←eople on board was over₹≈δ™turned by a tornado in the Hubei seβ¥×ction of the Yangtze Rive'αλr at around 9:28 pm on 1st Ju↕×ne 2015 Monday, maritimβε£e authorities said.

The "Eastern Star" riveφ₩β★r cruise, which was bound for ♦>Chongqing after departing ₽>from Nanjing on Monday, o <verturned after a sudden tornado in£§​ the Yangtze River se∏≈£ction near Jianli county of §←§Hubei province.

Rescuers have managed to pul∞$→≥l 12 people from the overturned cr©↔uise, the Hubei Daily reporte↓↓•d, quoting the Changjα♦βiang Maritime Safety Administrati↕λ☆on.

President Xi Jinping has cal✘₽led on an all-out rescue effort, Xinhu♣β←×a News Agency reported.

Premier Li Keqiang has also demanded a ★™ full rescue effort ∑®☆to reduce the number of casualties t¥ o a minimum as he arrived at±&✘ the rescue scene of th₹÷®∞e river section on Tuesday εε₩♠morning.

The State Council has identified t±‍εhe accident as an accident caused by≈'  extreme weather conditions. Rescuer∏♦s have so far identified the lשocation of the sunken cruise aα‌λ∞nd the rescue effort is underway.

The tornado strike wasδ£φ so quick that the river cruise fail♥π÷πed to send out rescue signal when iφ←t overturned. A majority of '∞∑the passengers and crews∑σ÷ had already gone to sleepΩ €± when the ship sunk, the Hubei Dai¥↑÷πly reported.

The alert was not sent o© λut to maritime authorities unt÷‌​☆il passing ships found pe  ople calling for help in the river at a∏λ♠★round 10 pm, the report said.

The river cruise, whicδ÷<'h belonged to the Chongqing Dongfang  ™→​River Cruise Co, has a designated ca÷♦pacity of 534 passengers.

The 458 people on bo♦&ard include 406 passengers, ♠< ≈47 crews and five tour guides. A majo"↕✔rity of the passengers o‍ ≠$n board the cruise was senior∏≠" residents aged between 50 and 80 f"£©rom Shanghai, according to theφδφ★ report.

The river cruise, one of the five π×σ∑luxury cruises owned by the company, wa§×s put into service in 1994.