PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> <br />(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />At least 36 people died and dozens were injured when a ferry carrying more than 120 passengers on a company outing collided with another ferry and sank near an island south of Hong Kong on Monday (October 2) night, in one of the city's worst maritime accidents.<br/> <br />The ferry belonging to the Hongkong Electric Company, controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, was taking staff and family members to watch fireworks in the city's Victoria Harbour to celebrate China's National Day and mid-autumn festival when it hit the other ship and began sinking near Lamma island.<br/> <br />Hongkong Electric said that the accident was not due to lax safety standards.<br/> <br />"Our ship's license was granted just recently, so this is not an issue about inspection. I hope everyone understands that we were directly crashed into. This is equivalent to a car colliding straight into you, and when this happens, whether or not the car had undergone inspections earlier, is a completely different issue," said Yuen Sui-see, director of the company.<br/> <br />The other ship, owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, suffered a badly damaged bow in the collision but made it safely to the pier on Lamma, an island popular with tourists and expatriates about a half-hour boat ride from Hong Kong.<br/> <br />Several of the approximately 100 passengers and crew on board were taken to hospital with injuries.
