Hong Kong snorkeller drowns off remote Sai Kung island
Speedboat driver finds man’s body in the water; victim earlier joined boat trip from Sai Kung to Bluff Island
A 48-year-old man is believed to have drowned while snorkelling during a boat trip off Sai Kung on Monday.
Cheng Siu-man, who was travelling alone, was among about 40 people who boarded a boat in Sai Kung at about 10am.
About an hour later, it anchored off Ung Kong Wan on Bluff Island, where participants went for a dip, snorkelled or played other water activities. It is understood Cheng went snorkelling alone.
Shortly before 3pm, the driver of a passing speedboat spotted Cheng floating in the sea off the island, according to a police source.
He was pulled out of the water into a speedboat before being ferried to the Marine East police base in Sai Kung.
Cheng was then taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital where he was declared dead before 4pm.
A police source said an initial probe found nothing suspicious and an autopsy was likely to be carried out.
Separately, an air and sea search was still underway for a 24-year-old man who went missing during a boat trip on Sunday.
He was among 37 people who joined the trip on Sunday morning. He went for a dip off Tai She Wan in Sai Kung East Country Park at about 11.30am. It is about 3km from Ung Kong Wan. He was reported missing during a roll call at about 2.30pm on Sunday.
The search and rescue operation involved police, fire officers and a helicopter.
On Sunday afternoon, a 56-year-old man lost his life after jumping into the sea in an attempt to save a woman from drowning in Sai Kung.
The 57-year-old woman, who also died, was washed away by a wave at Po Toi O in Clear Water Bay during a hiking trip with the man, his wife and two others when the incident happened at about 1.30pm on Sunday.
