THE 519 passengers and crew of an ocean-going gambling ship had to be rescued by Royal Navy and police launches last night after a blaze broke out on the vessel.
One navy ship, three fire boats and 18 police launches were involved in the evacuation of the 4,800-tonne, Panamanian-registered New Orient Princess, which was 1.5 nautical miles off Tung Lung Chau when the fire broke out at about 9 pm.
The ship had left Kowloon Bay shortly after 8 pm on its regular nightly gambling excursion into international waters off Hong Kong. But punters were soon scrambling for safety after the blaze broke out in a sauna.
Two crew were slightly injured during the rescue and were admitted to Tang Shiu Kin Hospital after being brought ashore at the Sai Wan Ho marine base.
The fire ships and six New Orient Princess officers, including the captain, who stayed aboard were still fighting the fire early this morning.
''No flames could be seen but there was a thick column of dense smoke still billowing out from the stern of the vessel,'' a witness said.