Investigators on Tuesday boarded a half-submerged boat that collided with a ferry a night earlier, killing at least 38 people who had been on their way to a holiday fireworks show. It was Hong Kong’s worst accident in well over a decade.
There was no immediate word about how Monday night’s collision occurred on the tightly regulated waterways of one of Asia’s safest places. The evening was clear and both vessels should have been illuminated by running lights when they crashed near Lamma Island.
The ferry collided with a boat owned by utility company Power Assets Holdings, parent of Hongkong Electric, which was taking its workers and their families to famed Victoria Harbour to watch a fireworks display in celebration of National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Survivors told local television stations that the power company boat started sinking rapidly after the 8.23pm collision.
The ferry did not sink, and apparently did not stop to help the doomed vessel. Local television later showed images of the ferry, with its bow chewed up and chunks missing.
The government said 38 bodies had been recovered as of Tuesday morning, and at least one person appeared to be missing. Details about the victims were not given, though RTHK reported some of the dead were children.