Stormy weather rescue at sea wins commendations

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Police Constables Mr Lee Kam-hung and Mr Chan Ka-chun can reflect on the many adventures they have shared since joining the Force on the same day and becoming squad mates, but the events on the night of October 6, last year, will be hard to surpass. Both officers are currently posted to the Small Boat Division, Marine Region, where they serve in the same sub-unit as crewmen of the Damen Cougarteks, the Force's 60-knot high speed interceptors.

On the night of October 6, last year, Mr Lee and Mr Chan were each part of a five-officer crew aboard two of the Cougarteks, Police Launches 87 and 89. As the vessels crept through a dark and stormy night en route to their designated operational area on an anti-smuggling deployment off the coast of Sai Kung, two-metre high swells regularly broke over the bows of the launch drenching the crew.

A call for assistance from a Divisional Patrol Launch broke the radio silence. A small vessel with no navigation lights was refusing to comply with instructions to 'heave to' and was attempting to flee. Opening up their engines, both 'Cougarteks' powered through the high seas to respond. As they vectored in on the target it was identified as a seven-metre fiberglass sampan with a single outboard engine. Pitching and rolling, it was clear to the officers that the lives of the 10 persons on board were endangered by the reckless attempt to escape.

The 'Cougarteks' closed the distance rapidly when suddenly ahead of them the sampan was swamped by a huge swell and it capsized throwing all the occupants into the sea. The mission immediately changed to a perilous rescue. Approaching as close as possible before shutting down their engines to ensure that the three razor sharp propellers on each 'Cougartek' would not slice through the bodies in the water, the crew threw lifejackets and attempted to pick out survivors with spotlights.

Mr Lee saw a body face down in the water. Without hesitation he stripped off his equipment belt and dived from PL 87 into the sea. Despite the drag of his uniform and boots, he covered the 15m to the body, turned her over and towed the unconscious victim to PL 87.

Meanwhile, Mr Chan had seen a female lose her grasp of the upturned sampan and start to drift off, crying for help. He immediately responded by diving into the water and, upon reaching her, assisted her back to the safety of PL 89. Mr Chan returned to the stricken sampan twice more, helping a further two victims to safety.

The two 'Cougarteks' were by now wallowing without power or steerage making the recovery of people from the sea even more hazardous for the remaining crew. PL 87 Launch Commander, Station Sergeant Mr Li Chi-shing, got out on the transom and dragged the unconscious female aboard. He applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR and was rewarded after a few minutes when a pulse was detected. All 10 persons were safely rescued and recovered without long term injury.

The sampan coxswain and a second male were subsequently convicted of Aiding and Abetting Illegal Immigration in respect of the eight females who had been on board.

Mr Li received a Commanding Officer's Commendation for his leadership and decisive action from the Marine Regional Commander, Mr Cheung Chi-shum.

In recognition of the outstanding acts of Mr Lee and Mr Chan, Commissioner Mr Tsang Yam-pui commended each officer and presented them with a Commissioner's lanyard at Police Headquarters on May 13.

Both Mr Lee and Mr Chan told OffBeat that team effort was the key behind the successful rescue and the praise should go to everyone on the two launches. They said they were extremely happy when they learned that all 10 people were safely rescued.

Mr Chan said: "At that time, in my mind, I thought: 'not one less'. If I did not jump into the sea in time, the woman could have been drowned in seconds as she didn't know how to swim and there were no life-saving facilities on the sampan.

"I was cold rather than frightened after the rescue. I had received life-saving training and had made all the necessary precautions before jumping into the sea."

Sharing Mr Chan's views, Mr Lee said: "Though the rescue attempt was quite dangerous due to the high swells, I had nothing to fear because I trusted in my team mates to back me up.

"Saving lives is our prime concern. I believe every one on our launch would do the same to rescue a drowning person, given the chance."

This was not the first time that Mr Lee and Mr Chan saved lives in rough seas. In November 1994, Mr Chan was involved in the rescue of three fishermen off the Ninepin Islands after their fishing boat caught fire. In 2001, Mr Lee rescued fishermen on board a sinking fishing boat off Sai Kung.