Tyrone Siu / Reuters
Rescuers search for survivors in a partially-submerged boat after two vessels collided in Hong Kong waters on Monday.
By NBC News and wire services
Hong Kong authorities confirmed 25 deaths from a collision Monday night between a routine passenger ferry and a boat carrying employees on a company outing, according to reports?from the Chinese territory.
Rescuers pulled 123 out of the water, said acting deputy director of fire services, James Ng Kuen-chi, who confirmed the death toll at 5 a.m. (5 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, the South China Morning Post reported.
The crash took place at 8:23 p.m. as a boat owned by Hong Kong Electric utility was traveling from Lamma Island towards the main island of Hong Kong to view the National Day fireworks display.
It was hit by a passenger ferry that regularly travels the 40-minute route between Hong Kong's Central District to Yung Shue Wan, a former fishing village on Lamma that is now favored by tourists and expatriate professionals.
More than 120 people were aboard the Hong Kong utility vessel.
Low visibility hampered rescue efforts,?with many passengers trapped in the flooded upturned ferry before it sank, Reuters reported, citing survivors.
Nine people suffered serious injuries or remain in a critical condition, according to a government statement.
The government initially said a ferry collided with a tugboat.
"The rear of the ferry started to sink," a survivor told the Post. "I suddenly found myself deep under the sea. I swam hard and tried to grab a life buoy. I don?t know where my two kids are."
Lamma Island is the third largest island in the former British colony, located about 2 miles south of the main island of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's top official was on hand to help oversee the emergency operation, the Post reported.
Richard A. Brooks / AFP - Getty Images
A victim is carried ashore by rescue personnel after a ferry carrying about 120 people collided with another commercial vessel off Hong Kong late Monday.
"Relevant government departments are making all-out efforts to rescue people who fell into the sea after the collision. Senior officials and I will closely monitor the situation. We will do whatever we can for remedial actions,??said Hong Kong Chief?Executive Leung Chun-ying.
Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious accidents are rare.
NBC News' Kari Huus and Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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