Three customs officers lost their lives as their boat capsized on January 21, in waters off Hong Kong International Airport. Two crew members survived the incident, however the cause of the accident is not yet known.
The Fire Services Department informed that it sent 72 firefighters and rescuers to the are of the incident, after receiving a report. According to sources, the vessel hit an unknown object.
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The first group of firefighters arrived 29 minutes after the crash, and within minutes it found three customs officers that got trapped inside the cabin. These officers were pronounced dead in Tuen Mun Hospital. As for the two survivors, they were transported to North Lantau Hospital in Tung Chung.
As the department’s marine and diving division commander Yiu Men-yeung noted, no one saw any floating objects at the scene, thus the cause of the incident is still unknown. However, the customs officers were wearing life jackets.
The capsized vessel was in use since 2016, and underwent its last inspection in March 2019, as it was on an anti-smuggling patrol.
