Twenty-five people have died after two passenger boats collided off Hong Kong’s Lamma Island

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May 10, 2012
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The collision caused one boat to list so its bow protruded from the water

One of the boats was carrying 121 passengers and three crew to a fireworks display when it half-sank following Monday night’s collision.
By Tuesday morning, all but one had been pulled from the water. The rescue operation is continuing.
More than 40 injured people had been taken to hospitals on Hong Kong Island, some suffering from hypothermia.
The collision occurred during a busy period for passenger travel in Hong Kong, at the end of a long holiday weekend to mark the mid-autumn festival that this year coincides with China’s National Day on 1 October.
Power company Hong Kong Electric was reportedly using a commercial boat to take staff and family members to watch National Day fireworks in Victoria Harbour.
The vessel and another boat – reportedly operated by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry – collided, causing the HK Electric vessel to list, a company official was quoted as saying.
[h=3]Shipping channel[/h] The crash happened about 2030 on Monday.
The low visibility and the many obstacles on the vessel made it difficult for people to escape the listing ship, says the BBC’s Juliana Liu in Hong Kong.
After several hours of searching, rescuers had pulled 123 people from the water around the listing vessel, an FSD official told AFP.
“Among them, 17 were certified dead at scene while eight others were certified dead upon arrival at hospitals,” the official was quoted as saying.
One survivor told The South China Morning Post: “After 10 minutes out a boat crashed into ours from the side at very high speed. The rear… started to sink. I suddenly found myself deep under the sea.
 
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