SUBMERGED
.....Rescuers approach the partially submerged Hong Kong Electric Company ferry
in the waters near Yung Shue Wan on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island.
HONG KONG : At least 25
people died after a Hong Kong ferry packed with more than 120 people collided
with another ferry and sank near Lamma island last night in one of the city’s
worst maritime accidents.
Low visibility hampered
rescue efforts, with many passengers trapped in the flooded upturned ferry
before it sank, said survivors.
Nine people suffered serious
injuries or remain in a critical condition, the government said in a statement.
The accident occurred in the
waters off Lamma, an island south of Hong Kong popular with tourists and
expatriates.
A ferry belonging to the
Hong Kong Electric Company was heading out for an evening cruise to watch
fireworks when it collided with another ferry heading for Lamma.
“Our ferry left Lamma island
at 8.15 pm to watch the fireworks display out at sea, but within a few minutes,
a tugboat (ferry) smashed into our vessel,” Yuen Sui-see, operations director
for the company, told reporters.
Television pictures showed
the red and blue bow of the Hong Kong Electric Company ferry pointing skywards,
surrounded by rescue vessels as government helicopters with search lights
circled overhead.
“Within 10 minutes, the ship
had sunk. We had to wait at least 20 minutes before we were rescued,” said one
male survivor, wrapped in a blanket on the shore.
Other survivors said the
ship swiftly flooded, trapping many people underwater. Passengers had little
time to put on life jackets and some had to break windows to swim to the
surface.
“We thought we were going to
die. Everyone was trapped inside,” said a middle-aged woman.
The other passenger ferry,
owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, made it safely to the pier on
Lamma island with a badly damaged bow. Several of its passengers and crew were
taken to hospital with injuries.
It was a long holiday
weekend in Hong Kong, which is celebrating the mid-autumn festival and China’s
National Day on October 1.
Thousands of Hong Kong
residents live on outlying islands such as Lamma, which lies about 3 km
southwest of Hong Kong island.
Hong Kong is on one of the
world’s busiest shipping channels, but serious accidents are rare. (Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment