A ferry collided with a boat around 9:15am Thursday in the channel between Sai Wan and Green Island, injuring five people.
The boat was severely damaged and five of the six people onboard sustained minor injuries. They were initially transferred to the ferry, and then onto a fireboat which took them to shore, according to Ming Pao. The five injured passengers were sent to Queen Mary Hospital.
香港漁民 – 我們都是水上人家
The Cheung Chau-bound ferry left Central at 8:40am with 391 passengers and eight crew members. A spokesperson for New World First Ferry Services told HKFP that no one on the ferry was injured and the ship was not damaged. The spokesperson added that the captain of the ferry has over ten years of experience and this was his second journey of the day.
The ferry returned to Central at around 11:30am. The smaller boat–a tender operated by Sinopec and used to transport passengers between ships and shore–received extensive damage.
Police received a report on the collision at 9:26am. Marine officers and fire fighters arrived around 9:38am, according to an eyewitness. Consultant David Sanderson, a passenger on the ferry, told HKFP that he heard the ferry’s horn when the collision happened, but the impact was mild on the larger vessel.
Sanderson said that before the rescue boats arrived, the crew on the ferry attempted to tie up the two boats and went onboard the tender to assist the passengers.
“I was shocked it took so long for the police to arrive,” he said. “No one knows what happened.”
“People could have died, it was unacceptable,” he added.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
