More than 70 people were injured after a high-speeding ferry crashed into a breakwater off the coast of the gambling enclave of Macau on Friday, in the latest accident to hit the cities' busy waterways.
After departing from nearby Hong Kong about an hour earlier, the Macau-bound ferry was approaching the port at around 9.30 am (0130 GMT) when it hit a seawall, Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., the ferry's operator, said in a statement.
The hydrofoil was carrying 220 passengers and 13 crew members, Agence France-Presse reported.
Although 57 people were reported to be injured earlier on, the authorities changed the count later to 70.
"The vessel was carrying a total of 220 passengers and 13 crew members. Fifty-seven passengers have suffered minor injuries, including two Koreans and one Japanese," a spokeswoman for Shun Tak, which operates the ferry services, said in a statement.
The hour-long distance between Hong Kong and Macau is regularly covered by passenger ferries.
Local broadcaster RTHK said the ferry involved was a jetfoil and the cause of accident was yet to be determined.
It is the third accident on the Hong Kong to Macau ferry route in the past eight months.
"In November, a high-speed ferry travelling from Hong Kong to Macau hit an 'unidentified object' near one of Hong Kong's small outlying islands, injuring 87 people," according to AFP.
"And last month a Hong Kong-bound Macau ferry collided with a mainland Chinese vessel, leaving 33 injured."
After a fatal collision between a passenger ferry and a pleasure boat, carrying around 120 people, killed 39 people in October 2012, outrage and fear over maritime safety in Hong Kong was sparked.
A "litany of errors" and "systematic failings" was discovered in the marine department's safety standards when the crash was inquired.
Fatal boat accidents are rare in Hong Kong despite its crowded waters, which often see high-speed hydrofoils vying for space with tourist junks, luxury yachts and a century-old public ferry system, AFP reported.
