Lamma IV passengers 'buried' under falling debris
Lamma IV became underwater tomb for more than 20 victims, with cabin's only exit blocked
Detached seats and fallen ceiling panels trapped passengers on the upper deck of the doomed cruiser Lamma IV after it collided with a ferry, turning the cabin into an underwater grave for more than 20 people.
As well as falling on the victims, the debris blocked the only exit from the cabin.
This emerged yesterday as the search for bodies went on and fire services officers checked the wrecked vessel, beached at Nga Kau Wan on Lamma Island.
"Seats broke off from their fixtures and fibreboards dropped from the ceiling," a government source said. "Debris slid on to the victims and buried them."
The victims rolled to the rear end of the upper-deck cabin when the 24-metre boat sank vertically to a depth of 15 metres with only its bow above the surface.
Rescuers had to break windows to pull survivors out of the cabin.
"Divers discovered more than 20 bodies buried under debris on the upper deck. They included children," the source said.