70 injured as Hong Kong high-speed ferry crashes in Macau
High-speed ferry slams into breakwater an hour after leaving Sheung Wan terminal
Sixty Hong Kong residents were among 70 people injured when a high-speed ferry carrying 233 passengers and crew members slammed into a breakwater off Macau's main ferry terminal yesterday.
The Turbojet ferry, Cacilhas, mounted the breakwater before listing to its right in the accident at about 9.30am, Macau's Marine and Water Bureau said.
"A hole was made in the bow of the vessel and the engines could be seen through the hole," a bureau spokeswoman said. "After the crash, the vessel listed to one side, ran aground and slightly took in water."
The impact happened at high tide, she said, and the breakwater might have been submerged. The bureau will investigate the cause of the incident. The vessel will be removed from the scene at high tide today.
The Macau-bound jetfoil left the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal in Sheung Wan at about 8.30am. The incident occurred as it entered Macau's inner harbour. At least four rescue boats were dispatched to evacuate passengers and crews from the jetfoil. They were ferried to the inner harbour ferry terminal and a temporary pier at Taipa.
