Britons feared among 37 dead after packed ferry heading for Hong Kong firework show collides with another boat and sinks

• Six crew members from the two boats that crashed have been arrested
• Vessels collided off Lamma Island, two miles from Hong Kong island
• Sunken ferry was carrying more than 120 passengers and many children
• Hong Kong chief promises full investigation into collision
• Survivors said people broke windows to swim to the surface
• They waited 20 minutes to be rescued after the crash at 8.30pm last night
• Tragedy is the worst to hit Hong Kong since 1996, when more than 40 people died in a fire in a commercial building

British officials fear that UK citizens might be among the 37 people dead after two passenger ferries collided off Hong Kong.
Six crew members from the two boats that crashed were arrested this morning after more than 100 people were hospitalised following the dramatic accident last night.
Bodies were pulled from the pitch black water after one of the boats – carrying 120 workmates and their families to a holiday firework display in Hong Kong harbour – sank off Lamma island, two miles from Hong Kong island.
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Concerns: Rescuers check on the half submerged Hong Kong Electric boat after Lamma IV after the shocking crash last night

Upturned: At least 36 people were killed after this ferry collided with another off Hong Kong. British officials fear that UK citizens may be among the dead

Overnight drama: The bow of the Lamma IV is dragged out of the water following its doomed trip to watch a national day fireworks display in Victoria harbour

Final respects: Relatives of the victims throw notes into the water today as they pay tribute to the dead

Ripped open: The Sea Smooth ferry with its bow badly damaged sits docked at the Lamma island pier this morning after its collision with the Hong Kong Electric boat

Grieving: A woman who lost her mother in a ferry collision sobs as she leaves a public mortuary with relatives of other victims today

A major rescue operation took place overnight, with terrified survivors from the sunken vessel struggling to the surface of the water.
This morning, distraught and sobbing relatives of the dead visited the scene, where they tossed paper money into the sea.
The ritual is based on a Chinese tradition of furnishing the dead with ready currency for their arrival on the other side. The deceased are often provided with passports for their journey.
Three crew members of the sunken HongKong Electric pleasure craft, where all the fatalities occurred, have now been detained, along with three from the regular ferry vessel that collided with it.
'Police arrested six individuals this afternoon... They are being investigated for endangering people's lives at sea,' Security Minister Lai Tung-kwok told a press conference a day after the collision.

Pitch black: The rescue operatiopn was hampered by low visibility and clutter in and around the vessel

Rescue: Dozens of survivors from the sunken vessel were pulled from the dark waters in a major operation

Police chief Tsang Wai-hung said the suspects were responsible for the boats' operation. 'We don't rule out more arrests,' he added.
Searchlights swept across the water after the crash at 8.30pm last night as dive teams, helicopters and boats desperately tried to locate the survivors.
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 a middle-aged woman.

Survivor: A woman is carried ashore by rescuers following the collision between two ferries off Lamma island

Support: Rescuers carried the injured away from the scene (left) and comforted a young girl (right) after the collision involving two ferries off Hong Kong

Trauma: A visibly distressed survivor is helped to safety by two rescuers following the disaster

Operation: A man and two children are taken from the scene of the collision by emergency services

One woman told local television that she swallowed a lot of water as she swam back to shore.
Another man said he didn't know where his children were. Neither gave their names.
Many Hong Kong residents hold British national overseas passports, but the former colony is also popular among UK tourists. The British consulate in Hong Kong has been closed for the holiday and did not immediately comment.
The Fire Services Department said today that 123 people had been rescued from the sunken vessel.
Twenty-eight people were declared dead at the scene. Eight others died by the time they reached hospitals.

Safe: A young boy is carried from the scene as a cameraman films the rescue operation

Ordeal: Wrapped in a red blanket to keep warm, a girl is brought to safety by a rescuer wearing a facemask

‘Over 100 people were sent to five hospitals during the incident,’ said a Fire Services spokesman. ‘Nine of them have sustained serious injuries or are in critical condition.’

The rescue operation was hampered by the darkness, clutter in the vessel and by many obstacles that had broken free from the sunken ship.
This morning, the boat, which was half-submerged with its bow pointing almost straight up, was lifted out of the sea by a crane.
This morning, teams of men in white coats, green rubber gloves and yellow helmets carried corpses off a police launch in body bags.

Interest: Members of the media surround rescue workers as they carry a victim into an ambulance

Tragedy: More survivors are brought ashore following the disaster as rescue efforts continue

A local television network said that children were among the dead.
At one of the city's public mortuaries around 50 grieving relatives gathered, some crying, while others were called into identify the dead.
Nine people of the 100-odd sent to five hospitals 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 in one of the hospitals and pledged a thorough investigation into the crash.

Concern: Local residents watch from behind a wall as rescuers tend to a victim of the disaster

Help at hand: A survivor is carried to an ambulance on a stretcher after being pulled from the water

'All of Hong Kong's emergency forces are focused here,' he said. 'Wide-ranging rescue work is being carried out on in the sea, land and in the air.'

Flags flew at half mast at Li's Cheung Kong Group headquarters in the heart of the city's financial district on Tuesday, as well as at government headquarters.
A male passenger who was on the Lamma ferry said: 'After the accident, it was all chaos and people were crying. Then water began seeping in and the vessel began to tilt to one side and people were all told to stand on the other side and everyone started putting on life jackets.'
The other boat, owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, suffered a badly damaged bow in the collision but made it safely to the pier on Lamma, an island popular with tourists and expatriates about a half-hour boat ride from Hong Kong.

Mission: Rescuers bring equipment to the scene where a ferry carrying more than 120 people sank after colliding with another vessel

Questions: Hong Kong chief Leung Chun-ying has promised a full investigation into the collision

Several of its roughly 100 passengers and crew were taken to hospital with injuries.
The waters around Hong Kong were busy on Monday with numerous passenger ferries, private leisure boats and fishing vessels out to watch the city's fireworks, but it is unclear why the two ferries collided.

Ng Kuen-chi, acting deputy director of fire services told local television this morning: '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.'
Despite the tragedy, the firework display, to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, went ahead on Hong Kong harbour.

Emergency: Searchlights swept across the water as rescuers desperately searched for survivors from the sunken vessel

Crash: The sunken vessel had been carrying passengers to a firework display in Hong Kong harbour

Dramatic: A rescue boat approaches the sunken vessel as the hunt for survivors continues

Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious marine accidents are rare.
The tragedy is the worst to hit Hong Kong since 1996, when more than 40 people died in a fire in a commercial building.
HK Electric’s director of operations, Yuen Sui-see said: ‘This is a very happy holiday and it turned out to be such a tragic incident.

'There was a boat that came in close and crashed. After the crash, the other boat continued away, it didn't stop.'

Distraught family: Relatives of the victims cry as they pay tribute to the ill-fated people who were aboard the boat

Farewell: A relative of a victim throws paper money into the water, in a custom based on the idea of the dead needing ready currency for their advent to the other side

Distressed relatives of the victims toss paper money into the water. The Chinese have a tradition of furnishing the dead with paper money and passports

Mr Yuen denied the vessel was overloaded, saying it was carrying 121 passengers and three crew but had capacity for more than 200 passengers.
Chairman of HK Electric, Canning Fok Kin-ning, said the company has been contacting staff and their families since the tragedy happened last night, and has been accompanying victims and their family members in hospitals overnight to offer immediate assistance.
Mr Fok said: 'Cheung Kong Centre has already lowered Group flags to half mast to express the Group’s sorrow and condolences. A high level co-ordination team has been set up to co-ordinate the aftermath.
'HK Electric’s hotline 2843 3391 is still in operation and will be manned round the clock. We urge colleagues needing help to contact us as soon as possible.' Mr Fok added that the company has also arranged professional counsellors to help victims, staff and their families, and employees disturbed by this tragedy.

Investigation: Police officers on a small boat secure the area around the half-submerged vessel

Casualties: Frogmen from firefighting team retrieve a body, right, this morning as the search continues

What happened on board: The boat is lifted by cranes as police arrest six crew members following the collision

Seeking answers: The stricken ferry is pulled out of the water near Yung Shue Wan on Lamma island this morning following last night's dramatic collision

Sorrowful sight: Police and rescue officers carry the body of a deceased passenger at the Marine Police Base in Aberdeen, Hong Kong, this morning

Dawn operation: A crane on a floating barge lifts the Lamma IV out of the sea

He thanked all organisations engaged in rescue operations and stressed that the company will fully co-operate with the Government in the investigation and will pursue against parties responsible for the crash.
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.

Busy harbour: The government, police and companies who own the the vessels were today investigating the reason behind the crash

Who was harmed? The identity of the 36 people killed and dozens injured is still not certain

A maritime department spokesman told reporters: 'Normally vessels ought to stay and help other vessels in distress. But what we heard was that the other ship had passengers who were injured and needed help.'
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said they were speaking to the authorities involved and offering consular assistance. It is not yet known whether any British people were on board.
Lamma is the third-biggest island in Hong Kong and near one of the coastal Chinese city's busiest shipping lanes.
The island is home to about 6,000 people, including many of the former British colony's expatriate workers. Thousands of Hong Kong residents live on such outlying islands.