100 hurt as Macau ferries collide in fog

Poor visibility blamed for crash of high-speed vessels
More than 100 passengers were injured - a dozen of them seriously - when two high-speed ferries collided off Macau in thick fog last night.

The collision between the Funchal, bound from Hong Kong to Macau, and the Santa Maria, bound for Hong Kong, occurred in mainland waters at about 8.30pm. Normal service had resumed less than two hours earlier after being disrupted for six hours.

The accident happened at the end of a day in which thick fog caused serious disruption to sea traffic around the coast, with three collisions in Hong Kong waters and chaos at ferry terminals.

Last night's crash sent passengers aboard both ferries flying.

"We saw lights coming and then there was a loud bang," one passenger said.

"Many people flew out of their seats after the impact. I heard that the captain was also injured. It was such chaos," the passenger said.

Another passenger said the front window of one of the ferries was broken.

"Some people were injured. Some of them collapsed aboard the boat," he said.

One of the ferries was able to return to Macau under its own power after the crash, about five nautical miles off the city. The other had to be towed to port. Two dozen ambulances and fire engines were sent to the pier to receive the wounded.

Ferry services to and from Macau, including those serving the mainland, were suspended for two hours following the accident.

Macau Ports Authority spokeswoman Wong Soi-man said: "About 100 people were injured, about a dozen of them severely. We are not sure what caused the accident but the heavy fog was one of the main reasons."

Earlier, Macau authorities closed one of the two seaways between the city and Hong Kong for nearly six hours because of poor visibility - as low as 100 metres at one point.

The measure caused severe disruption to services.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at ferry piers. The journey, which normally takes less than an hour, was taking more than twice as long.

"The trip took me two hours," said Angela Leong On-kei, the fourth wife of casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun.

To clear the crowds, ferry operator TurboJet suspended the sale of tickets between 3pm and 8.30pm.

At 10.10am, a Macau-bound jetfoil with 386 passengers and crew on board collided with a Hong Kong fishing boat in dense fog off Fan Lau, Lantau.

Both vessels suffered minor damage but no one was hurt. The jetfoil continued its journey after authorities had examined it.

East of Hong Kong, a fishing boat sank after a mainland vessel struck it about 11.30am. Three men and a woman were rescued by a fire boat before the vessel went down.

At about 12.45pm in the same area, a Fire Services Department speedboat collided with a fishing boat.

The speedboat's railings and a windscreen were damaged. The 16-metre fishing boat suffered slight damage to its bow.

The Observatory said visibility east of Hong Kong fell below 1km between 10am and 1pm. At Waglan Island it was as low as 100 metres.

A warm, humid maritime airstream brought the foggy weather, the Observatory said. It is expected to be humid and foggy again today, before temperatures fall tomorrow.

SCMP Jan 12, 2008