Eight dead, dozen missing as Hong Kong ferry sinks

At least eight people died and more than a dozen are missing after a ferry packed with more than 120 passengers collided with a tugboat and sank south of Hong Kong last night.

More than 100 people had been lifted so far from waters off Lamma, an island south of Hong Kong popular with tourists and expatriates, but it was not immediately clear how many were dead, a government spokeswoman said.

The ferry, belonging to The Hongkong Electric Company, was carrying company staff and family members on an evening cruise to watch fireworks at Victoria Harbour. It sank quickly.

Television pictures showed the red and blue bow of the ferry pointing skywards, surrounded by rescue vessels as government helicopters with search lights circled overhead.

Survivors were being taken to hospitals on Hong Kong island and Lamma island. “Some of them are suffering hypothermia and four had to be resuscitated,” a paramedic at the Queen Mary Hospital on Hong Kong island said.

“We will do all we can to find those who are still missing,” Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying told reporters.

The accident occurred over a long holiday weekend in Hong Kong, which is celebrating the mid-autumn festival and China’s National Day on Oct 1.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents live on outlying islands such as Lamma, which lies about 3km off the southwest of Hong Kong island.