The Hong Kong Marine Department (HKMD) has confirmed that six people were injured as a result of an explosion on one of its vessels at a local dockyard on Monday, March 2.
The incident occurred while the HKMD vessel was undergoing its annual inspection at a government-owned dockyard on Stonecutters Island in the late morning (local time) of Monday.
The HKMD said the blast caused white smoke to billow from the bow in addition to injuring three government personnel and three contractors. All six individuals were later rushed to hospital.
Officials suspect that the explosion was triggered by a gas leak from a battery installed near the bow.
The HKMD has deployed personnel to the area to inspect the affected compartments on the vessel as part of an investigation into the incident.
The department added that four of the injured individuals have already been cleared for discharge while the remaining two will be kept in hospital for observation.
