When a US military plane crashed in Hong Kong during the Vietnam war, killing all but 13 of those on board
- A witness described the horrific aftermath of the 1965 crash in Hong Kong of a C-130 Hercules taking 65 US servicemen back to Da Nang after rest and recreation
- People in the water of Yau Tong Bay shouted for help following the crash after take-off from Kai Tak and some tried to swim as flames from burning fuel spread
“Eleven bodies had been recovered last night from the wreckage of the U.S. Marine Corps C-130 Hercules transport plane which crashed in Yau Tong Bay shortly after take-off from Kai Tak yesterday morning,” the South China Morning Post reported on August 25, 1965. “Only 13 survivors were picked up after the crash and they are now in Queen Elizabeth Hospital receiving treatment for shock and injuries.”
The plane had been carrying 71 American servicemen – 69 marines, including a crew of six, and two navy men – who were returning to Da Nang, in Vietnam, after four days of rest and recreation in Hong Kong.
According to an eyewitness, “the plane had just become airborne when it veered to the left”.
“They said one of its wings dipped into the water and broke off. The aircraft hit the water nose first and sank soon afterwards,” the Post article said. “Fuel spewed out over the water and fire immediately spread over a wide area of the bay.
“The eyewitness said that he then saw more than ten people floating in the water shouting for help. Some of them were trying to swim towards the shore. Then flames […] engulfed them and they were not seen again.”