英语文摘:Helicopter urgently lands in Hong Kong waters, 13 rescued

HONG KONG, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A helicopter departing for Macao made an emergency landing in waters at Hong Kong Victoria Harbor on Saturday. All of 13 people on board were safely rescued.

At around 12:04 noon (GMT 4:04), the Sky Shuttle type AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, flight no. EMU2, made an emergency landing at sea about 500 meters northwest of Shun Tak Center at Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island shortly after taking off.

"The pilot heard a loud bang at the back and decided to land on the waters," Acting Director General of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) Leung Yu-keung said at a press briefing on Saturday that they will send some of the fittings broken down from the wreckage to Italy, where the copter was manufactured, for investigation.

The crashed helicopter is salvaged on the sea area between the Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsular, south China, July 3, 2010. The helicopter crashed on Saturday noon, and all 13 persons onboard have been rescued.

CAD will invite the participation of the accident investigation authorities of Macao and Italy. Leung said a preliminary report will be released within a month.