The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- At least 36 dead after Hong Kong ferry sinks following collision
- At least 36 dead after Hong Kong ferry sinks following collision
- Colombian president to have surgery for prostate cancer
| At least 36 dead after Hong Kong ferry sinks following collision Posted: 01 Oct 2012 08:13 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - At least 36 people died and dozens were injured when a ferry carrying more than 120 people on a company outing collided with another ferry and sank near an island south of Hong Kong on Monday night in one of the city's worst maritime accidents.
The ferry belonging to the Hong Kong Electric Company was taking staff and family members to watch a fireworks display to celebrate China's National Day and mid-autumn festival when it hit the other ship and quickly began sinking near Lamma island. Survivors said they had little time to put on life jackets before the ferry flooded, trapping passengers. "Within 10 minutes, the ship had sunk. We had to wait at least 20 minutes before we were rescued," said one male survivor, wrapped in a blanket on the shore. Some survivors said people had to break windows to swim to the surface. "We thought we were going to die. Everyone was trapped inside," said another middle-aged woman. The other ship, owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, made it safely to the pier on Lamma, an island popular with tourists and expatriates. It had a damaged bow and several of its passengers and crew were taken to hospital with injuries. The tragedy was the worst to hit Hong Kong since 1996 when more than 40 people died in a fire in a commercial building. SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS CONTINUES Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious marine accidents are rare. It is unclear why the two ferries collided. "Our ferry left Lamma island at 8.15 pm to watch the fireworks display out at sea, but within a few minutes, a tugboat (ferry) smashed into our vessel," Yuen Sui-see, a director for Hong Kong Electric. A spokeswoman for Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry said they were assessing what had happened. "Our captain is not well and we have not been able to talk to him so far," the spokeswoman told local television. The nighttime collision sparked a major rescue operation involving dive teams, helicopters and boats that saw scores of people plucked from the sea. Television pictures showed the red and blue bow of the Hong Kong Electric Company ferry pointing skywards, surrounded by rescue vessels. "We will continue our search. We also don't rule out that some may have swam to shore themselves and haven't contacted their families and so may not be accounted for," Ng Kuen-chi, acting deputy director of fire services told local television. The search was hampered by the vessel being partly sunken, poor visibility and too much clutter inside the vessel, Ng said. Teams of men in white coats, green rubber gloves and yellow helmets carried corpses off a police launch in body bags on Tuesday. Local media reported that children were among the dead. More than 100 people were sent to five hospitals and nine people suffered serious injuries or remain in critical condition, the government said in a statement. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying visited survivors of the collision and pledged a thorough investigation into the crash. Thousands of Hong Kong residents live on outlying islands such as Lamma, which lies about three km (two miles) southwest of Hong Kong island. (Additional reporting by Donny Kwok, Stefanie McIntyre, James Pomfret, Farah Master and Venus Wu; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Michael Perry) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| At least 36 dead after Hong Kong ferry sinks following collision Posted: 01 Oct 2012 07:59 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - At least 36 people died and dozens were injured when a ferry carrying more than 120 people on a company outing collided with another ferry and sank near an island south of Hong Kong on Monday night in one of the city's worst maritime accidents.
The ferry belonging to the Hong Kong Electric Company was taking staff and family members to watch a fireworks display to celebrate China's National Day and mid-autumn festival when it hit the other ship and quickly began sinking near Lama island. Survivors said they had little time to put on life jackets before the ferry flooded, trapping passengers. "Within 10 minutes, the ship had sunk. We had to wait at least 20 minutes before we were rescued," said one male survivor, wrapped in a blanket on the shore. Some survivors said people had to break windows to swim to the surface. "We thought we were going to die. Everyone was trapped inside," said another middle-aged woman. The other ship, owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, made it safely to the pier on Lamma, an island popular with tourists and expatriates. It had a damaged bow and several of its passengers and crew were taken to hospital with injuries. The tragedy was the worst to hit Hong Kong since 1996 when more than 40 people died in a fire in a commercial building. SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS CONTINUES Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious marine accidents are rare. It is unclear why the two ferries collided. "Our ferry left Lamma island at 8.15 pm to watch the fireworks display out at sea, but within a few minutes, a tugboat (ferry) smashed into our vessel," Yuen Sui-see, a director for Hong Kong Electric. A spokeswoman for Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry said they were assessing what had happened. "Our captain is not well and we have not been able to talk to him so far," the spokeswoman told local television. The night-time collision sparked a major rescue operation involving dive teams, helicopters and boats that saw scores of people plucked from the sea. Television pictures showed the red and blue bow of the Hong Kong Electric Company ferry pointing skywards, surrounded by rescue vessels. "We will continue our search. We also don't rule out that some may have swam to shore themselves and haven't contacted their families and so may not be accounted for," Ng Kuen-chi, acting deputy director of fire services told local television. The search was hampered by the vessel being partly sunken, poor visibility and too much clutter inside the vessel, Ng said. Teams of men in white coats, green rubber gloves and yellow helmets carried corpses off a police launch in body bags on Tuesday. Local media reported that children were among the dead. More than 100 people were sent to five hospitals and nine people suffered serious injuries or remain in critical condition, the government said in a statement. Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying visited survivors of the collision and pledged a thorough investigation into the crash. Thousands of Hong Kong residents live on outlying islands such as Lamma, which lies about three km (two miles) southwest of Hong Kong island. (Additional reporting by Donny Kwok, Stefanie McIntyre, James Pomfret, Farah Master and Venus Wu; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Michael Perry) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Colombian president to have surgery for prostate cancer Posted: 01 Oct 2012 07:58 PM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday he would undergo surgery for a non-aggressive prostate cancer in a health scare that seemed unlikely to derail his government's imminent talks with Marxist rebels to end decades of war.
Santos, 61, said the tumour was discovered as part of a routine checkup and will be removed on Wednesday. "It's a small tumour located on the prostate gland and it's a good prognosis. It's not aggressive," he said at the presidential palace in Bogota, flanked by his doctor and his wife. "There's a 97 percent chance of being totally cured." The Harvard-educated economist, who took office two years ago, is about to embark on negotiations in coming weeks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), whose insurgency has led to the deaths of tens of thousands in half a century. A successful end to the peace negotiations would help secure Santos a place in history and allow him to further build on the economic and security advances that began under President Alvaro Uribe a decade ago. Colombia, a nation of about 46 million, has attracted record foreign direct investment over the last few years as a U.S.-backed military offensive against drug traffickers and FARC rebels improved business confidence. Santos, who as Uribe's defence minister dealt some of the harshest blows against the FARC, said he would not be handing over presidential duties. The cancer was detected "very much in time" and his doctor expected the president to be able to make a quick recovery, Santos said. The surgery will be conducted with a local anaesthetic at a hospital in Bogota. "I am going to stay in the clinic a few days. I will be subject to a few physical limitations, but I will continue exercising my functions as president of the Republic," he said. LATEST LATIN AMERICAN LEADER AFFLICTED Santos, who has three children, joins several other Latin American leaders who have fought cancer in recent years. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who seeks re-election on Sunday, has had three operations for tumours since mid-2011. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was successfully treated for a throat tumour earlier this year and his successor, President Vilma Rousseff, was treated for lymphoma cancer in 2009 but has been given a clean bill of health by her doctors. Paraguay's former President Fernando Lugo also beat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011 after four months of chemotherapy treatment. A flood of messages appeared on Twitter offering support for Santos, including best wishes from ally-turned-foe Uribe, opposition lawmakers and government officials. "My solidarity and support to the President and his family," said Vice President Angelino Garzon, who also was hospitalized recently. "The country, now more than ever, needs him." The peace talks helped lift Santos' approval ratings at a time when he was being slammed by critics, like former boss Uribe, who said security had deteriorated considerably, raising the possibility he would be unable to seek a second term. Negotiations with the FARC, which will take place in Norway and Cuba, have raised Colombians' hopes of an end to the war. Santos, who appeared alongside his soldier son earlier on Monday at a military event, seemed in good spirits and said that he had sought medical advice last week during a meeting of the United Nations in New York. He left for Peru after the cancer announcement to attend a meeting of Latin American and Arab heads of state and will return to Bogota on Tuesday, a presidential spokesman said. (Additional reporting by Eduardo Garcia and Monica Garcia in Bogota, Helen Murphy in Caracas; Writing by Helen Murphy; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Kieran Murray and Lisa Shumaker) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
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