Typhoon near Taiwan brings thunderstorms
Summer temperatures and a violent weather change yesterday afternoon resulted in the death of a diver, the injury of a crane operator and the admission to hospital of scores of people suffering from the heat.
The diver, surnamed Cheung, drowned off Port Island, Sai Kung, at about 3.30pm after strong winds and waves knocked her and a 34-year-old male diver out of a rubber dinghy being towed by a pleasure boat.
Police later recovered a woman's body that was missing a limb, possibly cut off by a propellor. The man, who suffered a broken arm, was rescued and in hospital in serious condition last night. The pair were part of a 50-strong party of divers.
The crane operator was lucky to escape with minor injuries when a gust of wind tossed a shipping container off a five-storey stack in Lau Fau Shan container park, in Tin Ha Road, hitting his crane at 4.20pm. Firemen took 20 minutes to pull the 37-year-old man from the wreckage. He was taken to Tuen Mun Hospital.
Hospitals reported scores of people seeking treatment for the effects of the heat, with the very hot weather warning in force throughout the day. The maximum temperature at the Observatory was 33.3 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, the highest so far this year, and reached 35 degrees in most parts of the New Territories.
The Observatory issued the thunderstorm warning at 2.15pm until 6pm. Squally thunderstorms with heavy rain swept the northern part of the city from about 3.30pm, with Sha Chau in Tuen Mun recording wind gusts of about 100km/h.
