Six crew members have been arrested from the two boats that collided in the waters off Hong Kong on Monday night leaving 37 people dead.
“Police arrested six individuals this afternoon. They are being investigated for endangering people’s lives at sea,” Security Minister Lai Tung-kwok said.
One of the boats was carrying more than 120 people to a fireworks display when it half-sank following the collision near Lamma Island.
The search for survivors is continuing.
The crash between a pleasure boat and a ferry happened about 20:30 local time (12:30 GMT) on Monday.
Dozens of people were thrown into the waters as the pleasure boat sank within minutes of impact.
The government has confirmed that 37 people died – 32 adults and five children. More than 100 people were injured. The number of people still missing is unknown.
Police have arrested three crew members from each of the vessels involved in the accident, the security minister told a news conference.
The head of police, Tsang Wai-hung, said the suspects were responsible for the boats’ operation.
“From the investigation so far we suspect that the crew responsible for manning the two vessels had not exercised the care required of them by law to ensure the safety of the vessel that they are navigating as well as the people on board their vessels.
“We expect further persons to be arrested… The investigation will focus on criminal liability,” he said.
