(Vatican Radio) Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested six crew members from the two
boats involved in a collision that killed at least 37 people in Hong Kong's deadliest
accident in more than a decade.
Police Commissioner Tsang Wai-hung said crew
members from both boats were detained on suspicion of endangering passengers by operating
the craft unsafely, but he provided no other details.
Salvage crews were raising
the Lamma IV, which sank after colliding with a ferry Monday night as it carried partygoers
to a fireworks show celebrating China's national day.
More than 100 people
from the party boat were rescued and sent to hospitals. The ferry was damaged but
completed its journey, and some of its passengers were treated for injuries.
The
ferry collided with a boat owned by utility company Power Assets Holdings Ltd., which
was taking its workers and their families to famed Victoria Harbor to watch a fireworks
display in celebration of China's National Day and mid-autumn festival.
Police
didn't know the exact number of people aboard the boat at the time of the accident
and were interviewing survivors to determine if others were missing. Hong Kong Chief
Executive Leung Chun-ying has ordered a full investigation.
There was no immediate
word about how Monday night's collision occurred on the tightly regulated waterways
of one of Asia's safest places, although it appeared human error was involved. The
evening was clear and both vessels should have been illuminated by running lights
when they crashed near Lamma island off the southwestern coast of Hong Kong island.