Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) chairs a meeting to direct search and rescue work as he takes a plane to the site where a passenger ship carrying 458 people sank in the Yangtze River in central China's Hubei Province, June 2, 2015. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has called for "all-out efforts" to save lives following the sinking of a passenger ship with 458 people onboard in the Hubei section of the Yangtze River on Monday night.

The ship, named Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, sank at around 9:30 p.m. after being caught in a cyclone in the Jianli section of the river, according to the Yangtze River navigation administration.

As of Tuesday morning, 10 people have been rescued.

Chairing a meeting to direct the rescue and emergency response work as he took a plane to the site, Li said saving lives should be the top priority.

He instructed a State Council work team to rush to the site to guide search and rescue work. The Ministry of Transport and China National Tourism Administration were ordered to mobilize all resources available to speed up the search and rescue work and help treat rescued people.

The ship was carrying 405 passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members.

It was heading from Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, to southwest China's Chongqing city.