25 confirmed dead in ferry collision off Lamma Island

A ferry collided with a kaito in waters off Lamma Island on Monday night, knocking passengers into the sea and triggering a major rescue effort. Authorities have confirmed 25 people dead.

Acting deputy director of fire services, James Ng Kuen-chi, also said that as of 5am, 123 out of 124 passengers and crew on the boat had been rescued so far in waters near Yung Shue Wan.

It was the second calamity to strike on National Day. Earlier, a 15-year-old youth was swept away in Shek O and drowned. A second boy was missing feared dead and a teenager girl was pulled from the water alive.

The collision happened at about 8.30pm when a Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry vessel collided with a Hong Kong Electric boat for staff activities in waters just off Yung Shue Wan.

There were 124 people on the HK Electric vessel. The party had set off from Lamma to Central to watch the National Day celebrations.

One of the vessels partially sank, with half of it sticking out of the water at an angle of 90 degrees.