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| 36 Confirmed Dead in Hong Kong Ferry Collision | 36 Confirmed Dead in Hong Kong Ferry Collision |
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| HONG KONG — At least 36 people died in a ferry collision in the busy waters off Hong Kong late Monday, in one of the worst disasters the city has seen in years. | HONG KONG — At least 36 people died in a ferry collision in the busy waters off Hong Kong late Monday, in one of the worst disasters the city has seen in years. |
| The accident happened at about 8.30pm local time, when a boat carrying more than 120 people was struck by a passenger ferry, and quickly sank off the coast of Lamma Island, one of the largest of Hong Kong’s many outlying islands. | |
| Local media reported that the Lamma IV, belonging to a local electric company that operates a power station on the island, had been on the way to a massive fireworks display that took place in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour to celebrate China’s national day. The other vessel was a ferry operated by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry, which runs regular services between Lamma and Hong Kong Island. | |
| As of Tuesday morning, 36 people were confirmed to have been killed in incident, and nine of the more than 100 people who were hospitalized had sustained serious injuries or were in critical condition, according to a government statement. | As of Tuesday morning, 36 people were confirmed to have been killed in incident, and nine of the more than 100 people who were hospitalized had sustained serious injuries or were in critical condition, according to a government statement. |
| Rescue operations were continuing Tuesday morning, and the Hong Kong fire department said it could not rule out that there were still people inside the vessel or missing. Low visibility and many obstacles on board were hampering the rescue efforts. | Rescue operations were continuing Tuesday morning, and the Hong Kong fire department said it could not rule out that there were still people inside the vessel or missing. Low visibility and many obstacles on board were hampering the rescue efforts. |
| Photos from the site taken Monday night showed the boat half submerged, with its bow pointing nearly straight up, off the coast of Lamma Island. | |
| Home to about 6,000 people — many of them expatriates — Lamma has a laid-back atmosphere and numerous seafood restaurants that make it a popular tourist destination. The island is connected to Hong Kong Island by regular ferry services that take about 30 minutes each way. | |
| Hong Kong has generally good maritime standards, but the waters surrounding this Asian financial and trading hub are often busy with commercial shipping traffic from regional and transcontinental cargo lines. Hong Kong’s port and nearby mainland Chinese ports in the Pearl River Delta rank as some of the busiest in the world. | Hong Kong has generally good maritime standards, but the waters surrounding this Asian financial and trading hub are often busy with commercial shipping traffic from regional and transcontinental cargo lines. Hong Kong’s port and nearby mainland Chinese ports in the Pearl River Delta rank as some of the busiest in the world. |
| Numerous passenger ferries, private leisure boats and fishing vessels add to the traffic in Hong Kong’s waters. |