Dozens dead after boats collide off Hong Kong

Hong Kong authorities announced an investigation Tuesday into the collision of two passenger boats that killed at least 37 people in the territory's deadliest ferry accident in recent memory.

The crash happened Monday evening, a night when Hong Kong's busy waters were even more crowded than usual, as the city celebrated China's National Day.

One of the two vessels, owned by The Hong Kong Electric Company, was carrying company employees and their families to watch the scheduled fireworks display when it was struck by a passenger ferry traveling from Hong Kong Island to Lamma Island.

Government officials said the collision occurred off Lamma's coast around 8:20 p.m., plunging more than 100 people into the water.