100 hurt in Hong Kong ship collision

HONG KONG, Feb 17 (Reuters): Nearly 100 people were injured in two separate ship collisions in Hong Kong waters today during foggy weather.

Ninety-eight people were injured, including three seriously, after a collision between a China-registered catamaran bound for the southern Chinese city of Panyu and a Chinese cargo ship, a spokesman for the marine rescue centre said.

Most of the injured were on the catamaran.

Separately, a locally registered cruise liner and a small boat collided, injuring a Hong Kong man.

"The main cause of the crashes was the fog.

Visibility was only about 0.9-3.7 km," the marine spokesman said.

Most of the injured were sent to hospital.

Hong Kong, one of the world's busiest ports, has been shrouded in fog for weeks.