74 injured in Hong Kong ferry crash

HONG KONG—Seventy-four people were injured after a Hong Kong ferry crashed into a mooring pillar Friday, the city’s marine department said.

Of the injured, nine were in a serious condition and had to be air-lifted to hospital, Patrick Wong, a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Marine Department told Agence France-Presse.

“At about 5 a.m. this morning, a 29-meter long ferry carrying 140 passengers crashed into a concrete mooring facility by a typhoon shelter shortly after departing Cheung Chau,” Wong said.

“The boat did not sink, but some people were hurt.”

The commuter ferry was carrying people from Cheung Chau, a small island off the city’s southern coast, to the main Hong Kong island.

Wong said an investigation into the accident had been launched, adding that visibility at the time was normal.

The cause of the accident was yet to be determined.

“We were all thrown out of our seats when the ferry crashed — people were bleeding all over, from the head, nose and lips,” a passenger told local broadcaster Cable News TV.

“It was very chaotic inside, none of the crew came to help us, we had to help ourselves,” another passenger told the station.

Last year, eight people died in Hong Kong when a vessel collided with a cargo boat in the South China Sea.