Some two nautical-miles short of their destination, the PL60 crew spotted
a lone fishing boat just off Shek O and apparently adrift. Launch
Commander Senior Inspector Chan Hing-chan said: "Experience told us
that this was probably the fishing vessel making the report and it could
be the site of the sinking and so we started our search drills
immediately."
Senior Police Constable Keung Kam-ping, who was manning the thermal
imager, swiftly spotted a body tossed in rough seas nearby and the crew
had the satisfaction of hauling a still-living fisherman out of the water.
Mr Keung said: "We then quickly ascertained the adrift boat was
the sister boat and she had rescued the remaining nine crewmen from the
sunken vessel but that one of them, a 39-year-old man, had fallen into a
coma."
Despite the dangers posed by poor weather and rough seas, Mr Keung and
Sergeant Pong Wai-kwong jumped aboard the sister boat and immediately
began cardio-pulmonary and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the unconscious
man.
All the crewmen from the sunken boat were taken to the Sai Wan Ho
Marine Regional Base for onward transmission to hospital by ambulance.
Unfortunately the man needing resuscitation was certified dead on arrival
at the hospital.
Mr Pong said: "It was a great pity that the unconscious man failed
to survive the disaster. However, we are pleased that we saved the life of
the 45-year-old man we fished from the water.
"I will never forget the reaction of the crewmen aboard the sister
vessel when we boarded it. I could tell from their faces that they had no
idea what to do next and were completely relying upon us.
"It was a memorable event for all of us, being the first rescue in
our new launch, but for me it was extra special because it was also my
39th birthday!" he said.
Assistant Divisional Commander (Operations), Mr
Lee Siu-leung said that the incident showed the high degree of alertness,
decisiveness and professionalism of the Marine officers.