Hong Kong’s Iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant Capsizes at Sea

In this file photo taken on June 14, 2022 an aerial view of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating Restaurant, an iconic but ageing tourist attraction designed like a Chinese imperial palace, being towed out of Aberdeen Harbor. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on June 14, 2022 an aerial view of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating Restaurant, an iconic but ageing tourist attraction designed like a Chinese imperial palace, being towed out of Aberdeen Harbor. (AFP)
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Hong Kong’s Iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant Capsizes at Sea

In this file photo taken on June 14, 2022 an aerial view of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating Restaurant, an iconic but ageing tourist attraction designed like a Chinese imperial palace, being towed out of Aberdeen Harbor. (AFP)
In this file photo taken on June 14, 2022 an aerial view of Hong Kong's Jumbo Floating Restaurant, an iconic but ageing tourist attraction designed like a Chinese imperial palace, being towed out of Aberdeen Harbor. (AFP)

Hong Kong’s iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant has capsized in the South China Sea less than a week after it was towed away from the city, its parent company said Monday.

The restaurant encountered "adverse conditions" on Saturday as it was passing the Xisha Islands, also known as the Paracel Islands, in the South China Sea, and water entered the vessel and it began to tip, according to Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises Ltd.

The company said no one was injured, but that efforts to save the vessel failed and it capsized on Sunday.

"As the water depth at the scene is over 1,000 meters, (it makes it) extremely difficult to carry out salvage works," it said in a statement.

It said the company "is very saddened by this accident."

The Jumbo Floating Restaurant, almost 80 meters (260 feet) in length, had been a landmark in Hong Kong for over four decades, serving Cantonese cuisine to over 3 million guests including Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise.

It closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and laid off all its staff. Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said the restaurant became a financial burden to its shareholders, with millions of Hong Kong dollars spent on its inspection and maintenance even though it was not in operation.

The restaurant was towed away last Tuesday. The company said it planned to move it to a lower-cost site where maintenance could be carried out.

It said that prior to its departure, the vessel had been thoroughly inspected by marine engineers and hoardings were installed, and all relevant approvals were obtained.

"The company is now getting further details of the accident from the towing company," the statement said.



Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
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Hundreds of Firefighters Battling Wildfire in Southern France

An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)
An Airbus H125 helicopter drops water over a wildfire in Saint-Julien Les Martigues, northwest of Marseille in southern France on July 18, 2025. (Photo by Christophe SIMON / AFP)

Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation.

The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.

Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.

"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."

Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.

Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.

Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.