55 Feared Dead as Boat Capsizes on Resort Lake : Taiwan: Police say the pleasure craft was overloaded and unlicensed and not authorized to make after-dark cruises.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — An overloaded and unlicensed pleasure boat chartered by Shell Taiwan Ltd. and carrying 88 vacationers capsized at a lake resort in Taiwan, and 55 were feared dead, rescue officials said Sunday.

The triple-decker boat, authorized to carry 60 people, overturned late Saturday night at Sun Moon Lake while making a sharp left turn. Thirty-three of the passengers managed to swim about 500 yards to shore, the officials said.

Only 17 bodies had been recovered 18 hours after the accident at the popular resort, about 160 miles from Taipei.

“We’re all devastated to a horrific degree,” said one of the survivors, Briton John Crossman, who is president of Shell Taiwan.

“The boat was making a left turn and then just keeled over,” he said.

Crossman’s 7-year-old daughter, Nicola, also made it safely to shore, but his wife and son were among those feared to have drowned.

The company chartered the “Hsin Yeh” for a summer moonlight cruise, and at least 85 of the occupants were Shell employees and their family members.

The owner of the vessel was arrested and police were planning to charge him with involuntary manslaughter, Nantou County Police officials said.

In addition to being over capacity and unlicensed, police said the boat violated a 6 p.m. curfew for pleasure yachts.

Cause of the accident had not been determined, but survivors said overcrowding was the most likely reason.