Twenty-seven people were injured - three seriously - when a high-speed catamaran collided with a vehicle ferry north of Lantau yesterday.
Last night a second catamaran operated by the same company was involved in a crash with a tugboat near Ma Wan. No one was injured and the passenger vessel docked at the China Hong Kong Ferry Terminal.
The first accident happened in mist at 9.10 am, an hour before the Marine Department warned of increasing dangers from the rising tide of vessels in Hong Kong and outlined measures to avoid catastrophe.
A woman's leg was severed below the knee and others were injured as passengers on the Zhuhai-bound catamaran Hai Yang were flung from their seats by the impact, which left a gaping hole in the vessel's side.
The captain of the Hai Yang, with 129 passengers and crew aboard, had sounded a horn three times before the collision with the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company vehicle ferry Man Boon, which was returning to Tuen Mun after taking workers to the Chek Lap Kok airport site.
Businessman Siu Kin-kwok, 40, had been sitting next to trader Cherry Chan Lok-yee, 26, who lost part of her leg.