London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

When two Hong Kong-Macau hydrofoil ferries collided, killing 4

When two Hong Kong-Macau hydrofoil ferries collided, killing 4

The high-speed ferries, both on the Hong Kong-Macau route, collided in July 1982, according to witnesses. Four officers were charged with manslaughter.

“An investigation is under way into yes­­terday’s hydrofoil accident, which resulted in two deaths and 82 passengers, including the captain of one of the vessels and a crewman being taken to hospital,” the South China Morning Post reported on July 12, 1982.

The Macau-bound Flying Flamingo carrying 125 passengers and the Hong Kong-bound Flying Goldfinch with 32 on board – both owned and operated by the Hongkong and Macau Hydrofoil Co – had collided 4.3 nautical miles west of Fan Lau on Lantau Island, at 9:50am on July 11.

Flying Flamingo passengers told the Post that both hydrofoils were moving at full speed when the collision occurred.

The death toll had risen to four by August 8, and the paper reported that “the experienced captain of a jetfoil who regularly makes the return trip between Hongkong and the Portuguese territory has said the collision was almost certainly the result of human error”.

The hydrofoil Flying Goldfinch is towed into a shipyard after the collision.


The two captains and two deck offi­cers of the hydrofoils were “charged with the manslaughter of Mrs Wu Yuk-ngan”, a passenger on the Flying Flamingo. However, Caption Kong Cheuk-kwan, of the Flying Goldfinch, was the only one found guilty. He was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, the Post reported on March 26, 1983.

In January 1984, Kong launched an appeal against his conviction. On March 10, the Post reported that the Court of Appeal jury stated that the captain, having been aware of the danger in the last 30 seconds before collision, had “failed to exercise a duty of care by stopping the vessel”.

After an unsuccessful appeal in Hong Kong, the captain was given special leave to appeal to the Privy Council in London. On June 26, 1985 the Post reported that after a five-day hearing, the council announced it would “quash the conviction and set aside the sentence”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×