Jackie Chan film crew member drowns after boat capsizes in Hong Kong

A cinematographer shooting a scene for a Jackie Chan blockbuster drowned after a vessel carrying his film crew capsized off Lantau Island this morning.

Police said the 15-metre-long vessel was 30 metres from shore when it capsized at around 3am on Wednesday.

A film industry source said that the drowned man was 51-year-old Chan Kwok-hung, who was shooting for the movie Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan and mainland actress Fan Bingbing.

Seven other crew members were able to swim back to shore after the accident near Sunny Bay, in northern Lantau.

But the victim Chan was later found unconscious. He was certified dead at the North Lantau Hospital.

Jackie Chan was not believed to be on board the boat.

Chan Kwok-hung worked in the industry for more than 20 years and was the main breadwinner of the family, the source said. “Industry people are raising money for his family,” the industry source said.

The marine police’s criminal unit is looking into the incident. Police are in contact with the seven survivors.

Tenky Tin Kai-man, chairman of the Movie Production Executives Association, said Chan Kwok-hung was well-loved by colleagues.

He said he worked with the late Chan previously on Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s 1996 comedy God of Cookery.

The deceased also used to be an assistant cinematographer for directors Jingle Ma Chor-sing and Chan Chi-ying.

Tin said the accident was a painful lesson for the industry on safety. “We had a discussion of whether we should revamp our safety guidelines earlier this year, but this accident happened before our revamp,” Tin said.

He said his association was working on raising money for Chan Kwok-hung’s family.

Skiptrace is a joint production of Hong Kong, mainland and US companies, among them Jackie Chan’s JC Group International.

Jackie Chan is co-producing the film and contributed to the film’s story board.