Eleven crew members of a Chinese cargo ship were missing following a collision with a container ship in waters off Hong Kong.
The cargo ship Zhong Xing 2 sank after the collision with the 300-metre long Marshall Islands-registered MOL Motivator about two nautical miles south-west of Po Toi Island, a spokeswoman of the Hong Kong maritime department said.
"Zhong Xing 2 is suspected to have sunk after the collision, and it is reported there are 12 crew on board," said the spokeswoman. "One of them was picked up by a fishing vessel navigating close by." The remaining 11 crew were reported missing.
Hong Kong's marine rescue co-ordination centre has deployed one helicopter, five marine police launches and three fire service department launches to assist in the search.
The 79,400-tonne MOL Motivator was travelling from Hong Kong to Yantian port in southern China. Hong Kong is the world's fourth-largest container port, after neighbouring Shenzhen. Vessels navigating near the collision site have been warned there may be a sunken ship nearby and have been asked to stay away.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rain warning, signalling expectations of heavy rain in parts of the territory overnight.
Thirty-nine people died in the city's worst maritime disaster in more than 40 years in October 2012 when a high-speed ferry collided with a pleasure boat.
Sunday 05 May 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/05/cargo-ships-collide-hong-kong-hong
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