On Monday, rescue workers dug with bulldozers, military trucks, shovels and their bare hands, trying to locate survivors.

They flew up and down the river in the wake of the storm, locating survivors and dropping supplies to them.

Officials were finding it virtually impossible to locate survivors or assess the extent of the destruction due to power and communication system failures.

But by 11 p.m., rescuers had been able to begin serious efforts to locate and remove survivors.

Many hours were spent flying over the ship and adjacent water assisting in the direction of rescue efforts and locating survivors.

All told, around 1,200 rescue workers, both civilian and military, were drafted into the battle to locate survivors from the 759-seat train.

Some of the rescue workers were equipped with sniffer dogs to locate trapped survivors.

Several vessels attempted to locate bodies or survivors from the ship in the days after the sinking, but found none.

Sound detectors were used to locate survivors beneath the slabs by picking up faint moans and cries.

They painstakingly locate survivors and report findings back to managers who draw conclusions about the sort of help required: food, cooking equipment, lavatories, shelter.