Image caption The pleasure boat Lamma IV collided with a ferry and then began to sink, throwing many of those on board into the water 
 
 Seven crew members have now been arrested from the two boats that collided in the waters off Hong Kong, leaving 38 people dead. 
 
 Those held on suspicion they did not "exercise the care required of them by law" include the captains of the two vessels - a public ferry and a company boat. 
 
 Five children are among the dead after the boats collided on Monday evening. 
 
 One of the boats half-sank following the accident off Lamma Island. 
 
 The accident - the worst maritime accident in Hong Kong for over 40 years - has caused shock in Hong Kong, where thousands of people travel by boat among the territory's islands every day, say correspondents. 
 
 Some relatives of those feared lost have gathered at mortuaries to seek news of their loved ones, reported Associated Press news agency. 
 
 Analysis Unlike mainland China, transport accidents resulting in fatalities are extremely rare in Hong Kong. This city of more than seven million people prides itself on highly regulated, efficient forms of mass transport by road, underground and by sea. Hong Kong was founded as a deep-water port more than 150 years ago. Its surrounding waters are home to some of the busiest shipping routes in the world. Its location close to the Pearl River Delta means vessels carrying cargo ply those waters everyday. In addition to the commercial ships, leisure and fishing boats are common sights, but serious collisions are uncommon. Thousands of people take regularly scheduled ferries from Hong Kong's main islands to outlying territories such as Lamma Island, which is a very popular area for both tourists and residents. 
 
 Busy waters 
 
 Dozens of people were thrown into the waters after the pleasure boat Lamma IV, carrying employees of Hong Kong Electric and their family members to watch a firework display, was in collision with the ferry. 
 
 It partially sank within minutes of impact, while the ferry - operated by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry (HKKF) company - was able to reach Lamma and disembark its passengers although it was taking on water. 
 
 Twenty-eight bodies were recovered overnight, eight more people were declared dead at hospitals, and two more bodies were discovered on Tuesday, the government said. 
 
 More than 100 people were injured. The number of people missing is unknown. 
 
 At an earlier briefing the head of police, Tsang Wai-hung, said the arrested suspects "responsible for manning the two vessels had not exercised the care required of them by law to ensure the safety of the vessels as well as the people on board". 
 
 The crash is Hong Kong's worst maritime accident since 1971, when a ferry sank during a typhoon, leaving 88 people dead. 
 
 It occurred during a busy period for passenger travel, at the end of a long holiday weekend to mark the mid-autumn festival that this year coincided with China's National Day on 1 October. 
 
 On Tuesday, some relatives of the dead went to the scene to throw paper money into the waters in tribute to those lost, AP said. 
 
 'Isolated' accident 
 
 We thought we were going to die. Everyone was trapped inside Survivor Read survivors' stories 
 
 Hong Kong Electric is owned by Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man. On Tuesday his son, Victor Li, said the company would make a payment of HK$200,000 (£16,000; $25,800) to the family of each person killed. 
 
 His father told reporters on his way to visit a hospital on Tuesday that he was "very sorry", but did not want to say too much, reported AP. 
 
 Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung dismissed concerns that the accident would damage Hong Kong's reputation as a centre of global maritime trade. 
 
 "This is definitely an isolated incident. The marine territory of Hong Kong is safe," he said. 
 
 He said an independent committee would be set up to look into the causes of the crash, and suggest measures to prevent similar tragedies in future. 
 
 He declared three days of mourning starting on Thursday, and expressed his sympathy with the victims' families. 
 
 1. Hong Kong Electric boat departs power plant for firework display in Victoria Harbour 
 
 2. Ferry departs Hong Kong island on regular route to Lamma Island 
 
 3. Collision occurs north of Lamma Island. Damaged ferry continues to port at Yung Shue Wan. Lamma IV sinks. 
 
 Lamma lies some 3km (two miles) south-west of Hong Kong island, and is popular with tourists and expatriates. 
 
 Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, but its ferries have a good safety record. ||||| Six crew members from two passenger boats that collided off Hong Kong's Lamma island, killing 38 people, have been arrested, the territory's security chief has said. 
 
 Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's chief executive, confirmed that 38 people had died and more than 100 had been injured in the disaster, the worst-ever such incident in the territory. 
 
 More than 120 people were on board the ferry that sank on late on Monday. 
 
 
 
 'Endangering lives at sea' 
 
 "Police arrested six individuals this afternoon... They are being investigated for endangering people's lives at sea," Security Minister Lai Tung-kwok told a press conference a day after the collision. 
 
 "Over 100 people were sent to five hospitals during the incident, nine of them have sustained serious injuries or are in critical condition" - Fire Services Department statement 
 
 
 
 He said three crew members of the company pleasure craft that sank in the incident, and where all the fatalities occurred, were detained along with three from the regular ferry vessel that collided with it near Lamma island. 
 
 Police chief Tsang Wai-hung said the suspects were responsible for the boats' operation. 
 
 "We don't rule out more arrests," he added. 
 
 Low visibility hampered rescue efforts, with many passengers trapped in the flooded upturned ferry before it sank on Monday night, said survivors. 
 
 Nine people suffered serious injuries or remain in a critical condition, the government said in a statement. 
 
 The accident occurred in the waters off Lamma, an island south of Hong Kong popular with tourists and expatriates. 
 
 The passengers of the stricken boat had been on their way to watch a fireworks display in Hong Kong harbour when their boat collided with another ferry, filling with water and quickly sinking, fire service officials said. 
 
 At least 124 passengers and crew were on the boat, operated by the Hong Kong Electric Company, a representative of the company said. 
 
 "Our ferry left Lamma island at 8:15pm [local time; 12:15pm GMT] to watch the fireworks display out at sea, but within a few minutes, a tugboat [ferry] smashed into our vessel," Yuen Sui-see, operations director for the company, told reporters. 
 
 
 
 'Total chaos' 
 
 Television pictures showed the red and blue bow of the ferry pointing skywards, surrounded by rescue vessels as government helicopters with search lights circled overhead. 
 
 Police said the cause of the accident was not yet known 
 
 "Over 100 people were sent to five hospitals during the incident, nine of them have sustained serious injuries or are in critical condition," the Fire Services Department [FSD] statement said. 
 
 The FSD said the rescue operation was hampered by darkness and "many obstacles onboard". Ng Kuen-chi, the acting deupty director of fire services, told local television that the rescue search was also made more difficult by the fact that the vessel was partly sunken. 
 
 
 
 Al Jazeera's Divya Gopalan, reporting form Hong Kong, said that there was "total chaos" on board the vessel as it began to sink. 
 
 "Families on the boat were separated, there was total chaos, many people were not wearing lifejackets. Many people couldn't swim. … People died both in the water and on the way to the hospital," she said. 
 
 Our correspondent reported that Hongkong Electric Company, which owned the ferry, is offering 200,000 Hong Kong dollars ($25,973) as compensation to each family who lost a loved one. 
 
 On Tuesday, teams of men in white coats, green rubber gloves and yellow helmets carried corpses off a police launch in body bags. Children were among the dead, local media reported, and at one of the city's public mortuaries around 50 grieving relatives gathered. 
 
 Despite the many casualties, the rescue response was quick. Al Jazeera's Gopalan said "the fire services department and rescue workers reached the disaster site 18 minutes from when they got the distress call. That's incredibly quick. That's what Hong Kong is used to. They have a very efficient rescue system." 
 
 Cause unknown 
 
 "Rescue action will continue overnight as FSD cannot rule out that there are still people inside the vessel or missing," the statement said. 
 
 "We thought we were going to die. Everyone was trapped inside" - Passenger 
 
 
 
 The FSD said 28 boats, two helicopters and 20 ambulances were involved in the rescue operation. 
 
 Police said the cause of the accident was not yet known. 
 
 A male survivor, wrapped in a blanket on the shore, said: "Within 10 minutes, the ship had sunk. We had to wait at least 20 minutes before we were rescued." 
 
 Other survivors said the ship swiftly flooded, trapping many people underwater. Passengers had little time to put on life jackets and some had to break windows to swim to the surface. 
 
 "We thought we were going to die. Everyone was trapped inside," said another middle-aged woman. 
 
 The other passenger ferry, owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings, made it safely to the pier on Lamma island with a badly damaged bow after the collision, though several of its passengers and crew were taken to hospital with injuries. 
 
 The accident occurred over a long holiday weekend in Hong Kong, which is celebrating the mid-autumn festival and China's National Day on October 1. 
 
 Thousands of Hong Kong residents live on outlying islands such as Lamma, which lies about three kilometres southwest of Hong Kong island. 
 
 Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious accidents are rare. Investigations are continuing into the accident.
– The death toll in yesterday's Hong Kong ferry collision is now at 37, including five children, and six crew members have been arrested in the tragedy—one of the worst maritime accidents in Hong Kong in decades. The crew members, three from each boat involved, "are being investigated for endangering people's lives at sea," says the Security Minister. The ferry that sank, a pleasure craft, was carrying more than 120 passengers to a fireworks display; it went down within minutes. The other boat, a regular ferry, was able to reach nearby Lamma Island as it was taking on water. None of the fatalities were from that boat, al-Jazeera reports. Rescue crews are still searching for survivors, and the number of missing is not known, the BBC reports. More than 100 were injured, including nine who remain in critical or serious condition. The suspects who were arrested were "responsible for manning the two vessels," says the head of police, and investigators suspect they "had not exercised the care required of them by law to ensure the safety of the vessels as well as the people on board." More people will likely be arrested, he adds. The scene on the sinking boat was described as "total chaos," with many passengers unable to swim or not wearing life jackets.