At least 25 people are dead after two ferries collided off Hong Kong’s Lamma Island ahead of a harbor fireworks display to mark China’s National Day.
Rescuers pulled 123 people from the sinking vessel, after the collision at about 8:20 p.m., according to a goverment press release. Seventeen people were certified dead on scene and eight on arrival at hospitals. Of the more than 100 passengers taken to five hospitals, nine were in serious or critical condition as of 3 a.m., the government said. The city’s Fire Services Department is continuing the search, it said.
The ferry that sank was being used by Power Assets Holdings Ltd. (6)’s Hongkong Electric unit to carry 124 passengers and crew to watch fireworks on the city’s harbor to celebrate China’s National Day, government broadcaster RTHK said, citing company Director of Operations S.S. Yuen. Spokesmen for the power utility didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
The second vessel, which wasn’t badly damaged and continued on its way after the accident, was a ferry operated by Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd., RTHK and cable outlet Now TV said. The government didn’t give details of the vessels’ identities.
The ferry was partially submerged with only its bow above water, RTHK said, citing witnesses and passengers. The boat was designed for 200 people and had adequate life-saving equipment on board, the broadcaster said, citing Yuen.
Some passengers’ inability to swim and injuries from the collision hindered their ability to escape from the sinking ferry, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said on a live broadcast on Now TV.
The Hong Kong & Kowloon ferry was carrying about 100 passengers, a few of whom were lightly injured and have been released from hospital, RTHK said on its Chinese-language website, citing an unidentified spokesman for the company.
The ferry company hasn’t yet been able to question the boat’s captain, according to Now TV. He’s very familiar with the route, RTHK said.
Leung Chun-ying, the city’s chief executive, visited an area near the accident, according to an e-mailed government statement.
Li Gang, deputy director of China’s central-government liaison agency in Hong Kong, said his office had asked the Guangdong provincial government to send rescue boats and teams to assist, according to Now TV. Li visited rescued passengers at a Hong Kong hospital, Now TV said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Fellman in New York at [email protected]; Aibing Guo in Hong Kong at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bruce Grant at [email protected]
Rescuers pulled 123 people from the sinking vessel, after the collision at about 8:20 p.m., according to a goverment press release. Seventeen people were certified dead on scene and eight on arrival at hospitals. Of the more than 100 passengers taken to five hospitals, nine were in serious or critical condition as of 3 a.m., the government said. The city’s Fire Services Department is continuing the search, it said.
The ferry that sank was being used by Power Assets Holdings Ltd. (6)’s Hongkong Electric unit to carry 124 passengers and crew to watch fireworks on the city’s harbor to celebrate China’s National Day, government broadcaster RTHK said, citing company Director of Operations S.S. Yuen. Spokesmen for the power utility didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
The second vessel, which wasn’t badly damaged and continued on its way after the accident, was a ferry operated by Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd., RTHK and cable outlet Now TV said. The government didn’t give details of the vessels’ identities.
The ferry was partially submerged with only its bow above water, RTHK said, citing witnesses and passengers. The boat was designed for 200 people and had adequate life-saving equipment on board, the broadcaster said, citing Yuen.
Some passengers’ inability to swim and injuries from the collision hindered their ability to escape from the sinking ferry, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said on a live broadcast on Now TV.
The Hong Kong & Kowloon ferry was carrying about 100 passengers, a few of whom were lightly injured and have been released from hospital, RTHK said on its Chinese-language website, citing an unidentified spokesman for the company.
The ferry company hasn’t yet been able to question the boat’s captain, according to Now TV. He’s very familiar with the route, RTHK said.
Leung Chun-ying, the city’s chief executive, visited an area near the accident, according to an e-mailed government statement.
Li Gang, deputy director of China’s central-government liaison agency in Hong Kong, said his office had asked the Guangdong provincial government to send rescue boats and teams to assist, according to Now TV. Li visited rescued passengers at a Hong Kong hospital, Now TV said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Joshua Fellman in New York at [email protected]; Aibing Guo in Hong Kong at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bruce Grant at [email protected]