HK authorities investigate cause of ferry disaster
Print Edition
Hong Kong officials yesterday began investigating Sunday’s ferry crash in which 124 people were hurt, five critically, amid fresh concerns over the safety of its busy waterways.
Investigators still did not know what caused the accident, when a high-speed ferry from Macau to Hong Kong hit an “unidentified object” in the water.
“We feel saddened by the large number of people who were affected by the collision ... the Marine Department will look into the cause of it,” said Anthony Cheung, the city’s transport secretary.
Of the 163 passengers and 11 crew on board, 124, aged between six and 83 were injured.
Hospital authorities said yesterday that most people have been discharged, though 33, including the five who were critically injured, were still being treated.
Ferry operator Shun Tak said water had seeped into the vessel’s engine rooms and the rear wing was damaged after the collision.
A major rescue operation was mounted after the ferry lost power following the crash.
Media reports described scenes of chaos, and photos showed wounded people being stretchered onto ambulances at a pier in Hong Kong’s Central financial district.
The South China Morning Post reported that a rubber tire was retrieved near where the ferry crashed and investigators are trying to find out whether it had any role in the incident.
The city has one of the world’s busiest ports, with hundreds of high-speed ferries, cargo ships, fishing boats and yachts crossing it daily.
Fears over its maritime safety have grown following a spate of accidents in recent years, including a crash in 2012 in which 39 people were killed when a high-speed ferry collided with a pleasure boat near Lamma Island.
An inquiry found a “litany of errors” contributed to the accident, the city’s worst maritime disaster in over 40 years.
In 2013, another high-speed ferry crashed into an unidentified object, injuring 87 and raising concerns over the problem of rubbish-strewn waterways.
In June last year, more than 50 people were injured when a Macau-bound ferry crashed into a seawall.
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