Nepalese man drowns while swimming in waters off one of Hong Kong’s outlying islands
- Police investigation finds man, 46, joined others in taking unsupervised swim on island housing drug rehabilitation centre, source says
- ‘Three residents, including the deceased, took it upon themselves to engage in unauthorised swimming in the waters near the pier’, says society overseeing centre
A 46-year old man is believed to have drowned off a Hong Kong outlying island where he went for a drug treatment programme, the Post has learned.
The Nepalese man, a Hong Kong resident, had gone swimming with other people from Shek Kwu Chau Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre around 12.30pm on Monday, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The centre provides rehabilitation services for drug abusers on a voluntary basis, and is run by the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers.
A few minutes into the swim, another man who joined the activity found the victim, surnamed Gurung, floating on the water and unresponsive, the source said.
The other swimmer alerted staff, who immediately called police.
Marine police and a Government Flying Service helicopter were dispatched to the scene. The man was airlifted by helicopter to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan, where he was pronounced dead at around 2pm.