A boating accident in Hong Kong killed 38 people on October 3, according to sources. A ferry owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Holdings collided with a vessel. The ferry was damaged but managed to make it to port. The vessel, the LAMMA IV, was half submerged and retrieved by a salvage crew.
Approximately 100 other passengers on both ships were hospitalized. Seven crewmembers from both ships were arrested by police and charged with unsafe operation. Three from the LAMMA IV were arrested and four from the ferry. The ferry captain has been hospitalized since the crash and has not been able to talk to investigators as of yet. According to police, the crewmembers were arrested for having not “exercised the care required of them by law.”
This is the worst maritime accident on record for China in over 40 years. Boating accidents on this large of a scale are rare. The LAMMA IV had a total of 121 passengers and three crewmembers; thus it was well under its capacity of 200. Power Assets Holdings, owned by Li Ka-shing, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, said approximately $25,800 would be paid out to the victim’s families.
“I don’t want to say too much,” Ka-shing told reporters. “I just know that many people have passed away.”
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Latti Associates LLC—Boston maritime attorneys.