The fate of Hong Kong's iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant has taken a dramatic twist with its owner insisting the vessel did not sink 1,000 metres under the South China Sea, having only capsized - although a company spokeswoman could not say if it was still above water or deep beneath the waves.
Asked whether it was natural and logical to take the ship as being 1,000 metres below the sea based on the information provided by the company, the spokeswoman said she had nothing to add. "Despite the efforts of the towing company responsible for the trip to rescue the vessel, unfortunately, it capsized on Sunday," it said.
In a late-night statement, the Marine Department said Jumbo and Jaewon 9, an oceangoing tugboat that had been towing the restaurant from Hong Kong to Cambodia, remained in the vicinity of the Xisha Islands, or Paracel Islands, where the capsizing occurred. The department said Jumbo's owner had failed to notify it before the media reported the sinking. After learning of the incident, the department said, it demanded a written report from the owner, which its agent submitted on Thursday.