Relatives of missing ferry passengers gather at Kwai Chung mortuary

Dozens of people gathered at Kwai Chung Public Mortuary by 10am on Tuesday morning, looking for relatives who went missing in the Lamma ferry disaster.

The mood was sombre and subdued as the relatives gathered in the building’s hall, some talking to mortuary officials.

Others wept openly while some speculated aloud about the ferry collision on Monday evening.

One man at the mortuary, who gave his surname as Leung, said he was looking for his father-in-law, who had boarded the ferry to watch the fireworks with his daughter and a granddaughter. His father-in-law was not a strong swimmer, Leung added.

A woman who identified herself as Mrs Shum said she and her family were searching for a cousin of her husband’s, and a niece of the cousin, who was seven or eight years old.

“No one thought it would turn out like this,” Shum said. But she was relieved that two other relatives had survived the disaster and been discharged from hospital.