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clifford.lo

Eleven mainland crewmen are missing feared drowned after their cargo vessel sank following a collision with a container ship southwest of Po Toi Island, outside Hong Kong waters before dawn on Monday.
The only survivor was their 46-year-old colleague who was picked up by a passing fishing boat about 25 minutes after the collision which happened 3.7 kilometres southwest of Po Toi Island at about 2.30am.
Watch: Cargo ship sinks just outside Hong Kong waters, 11 missing

Suffering minor scratches to the arms and legs, the mainland man was ferried to Hong Kong before being taken to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai for treatment.
A government source said it was possible the mainland-registered vessel, Zhong Xing 2, sank with the 11 missing crew members trapped aboard, or unable to escape in time.
The source said it was possible poor visibility caused by heavy rain overnight was partly to blame for the collision.
An air and sea search-and-rescue operation co-ordinated by the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre was launched, the Hong Kong Marine Department said. Mainland authorities also deployed a fixed-wing plane to search the area.
From Hong Kong, seven Marine Police launches, three fireboats, two diving vessels and a Government Flying Service helicopter were also involved in the search.
Captain Bruce Wong Ho-man, deputy manager of flight operations with the Government Flying Service, said a helicopter was sent out on two sorties – once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
“An Oil slick was spotted together with debris and some floating rings at the scene but no sign of the missing crews or sunken vessel were found,” he said.
The 97-metre Zhong Xing 2 was carrying cement from Hebei province to the port of Haikou in Hainan province at the time the collision occurred, the Marine Department said. It had a crew of 12.
A Marine Department spokeswoman said the mainland-registered vessel collided with a 300-metre Marshall Islands-registered container ship, MOL Motivator, which was leaving for Yantian in Guangdong from Hong Kong.
“Zhong Xing 2 reportedly sank after the collision,” she said. “One of the crew was picked up by a fishing boat, while the other 11 are missing.”
She said the department has alerted other vessels to look out for the missing crews but to stay out of the area.
At 4.30pm, the spokeswoman said the search was still continuing.
She said investigation into the cause of the collision was being carried out by mainland authorities as the incident happened outside Hong Kong waters.
 


Eleven crewmen missing after cargo vessel sinks in collision with container ship 

Nanhai Rescue Bureau (NRB) rescuers searching for survivors in the water after the Marshall Islands-registered MOL Motivator (in the background) collided with a Chinese cargo ship, the Zhong Xing 2, off Hong Kong waters.  Photo: AFP

The Marshall Islands-registered MOL Motivator floating in the waters off Hong Kong after it collided with a Chinese cargo ship, the Zhong Xing 2. Photo: AFP

Debris floating in the waters off Hong Kong after MOL Motivator container vessel collided with the Zhong Xing 2. Photo: AFP

A major search operation has been launched south of Po Toi Island to find missing crewmen after a cargo vessel sank when it collided with a container ship early today. Photo: David Wong 

News

Hong Kong

Major air-and-sea search operation launched as only survivor treated in hospital


Eleven mainland crewmen are missing feared drowned after their cargo vessel sank following a collision with a container ship southwest of Po Toi Island, outside Hong Kong waters before dawn on Monday.
