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SCMP Reporter

A pilot boat crewman drowned yesterday when he fell overboard and was trapped under a government mooring buoy.

He was one of three  crewmen who fell into the sea as they were trying to moor a cruise liner to the buoy in Kowloon Bay.

Two of the men were rescued,  but the 56-year-old man, identified only as Wong, could not be found.

After a 10-minute search, divers retrieved the man who   was certified dead at the fire services pier at North Point.

It was not known last night why the men had fallen overboard as the  sea was not rough at the time.

Senior firemen Chan Yu-hoi from the Kowloon Bay division said the man was pulled down by the current.

'He fell into the water and probably got trapped in the space beneath the buoy and could not swim out,' he said.

The pilot boat was helping to moor the cruise ship Metropolis to buoy No A43 near the end of the old Kai Tak airport runway when the accident happened.

Police and fire  department rescuers were immediately called and a Government Flying Service  helicopter was called in to help the search.

A government spokesman yesterday said the three workers were not registered pilots, but they were members of the Hong Kong Pilots' Association. He added the association had guidelines on mooring procedures.

The Marine Department, which is responsible for managing and maintaining the buoy, sought information from the pilot boat company.

The Labour Department said it was  looking into the cause of the accident. The  pilots' association, which trains seamen,  refused to comment on the case.



Crewman drowns in harbour fall