(CNN) — An iconic Hong Kong floating restaurant has sunk, simply days after it was towed out to sea en path to an unspecified vacation spot.
The restaurant’s principal boat was touring to an undisclosed shipyard when it capsized on Saturday after assembly “hostile situations” close to the Paracel Islands (also referred to as the Xisha Islands) within the South China Sea, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Restricted mentioned in a press release Monday.
The Jumbo Kingdom in Hong Kong, pictured in 2014.
Bruce Yan/South China Morning Submit/Getty Photographs
The boat sank greater than 1,000 meters (3,280 ft), making salvage work “extraordinarily tough,” the assertion mentioned.
It added that Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises was “very saddened by this accident,” and was working to assemble extra particulars. No crew members had been injured.
The information was met with consternation on-line, with many Twitter customers bemoaning the inelegant finish to considered one of Hong Kong’s most acknowledged historic icons. Some posted artwork depicting the restaurant underwater, whereas others shared farewell messages.
Others noticed the sinking ship as a darkly comedian metaphor for Hong Kong’s alleged fortunes, as town — nonetheless largely shut off from the remainder of the world — clings on to pandemic restrictions following a number of years of political turmoil.
The 260-feet lengthy (about 80 meters) restaurant was the principle boat of Jumbo Kingdom, which included an older and smaller sister restaurant boat, a barge for seafood tanks, a kitchen boat, and eight small ferries to move guests from close by piers.
It was well-known for its lavish Imperial-style façade, plentiful neon lights, large commissioned work within the stairwell and its colourful Chinese language-style motifs — together with a golden throne within the eating corridor.
However because the fishing inhabitants within the island’s southern harbor dwindled, the restaurant group turned much less well-liked, and had been struggling a deficit since 2013. The Covid-19 pandemic dealt the ultimate blow, with the restaurant closed till additional discover in 2020.
Maggie Hiufu Wong contributed reporting.
