Hong Kong’s famous floating restaurant sinks in the sea

Jumbo, a popular floating restaurant in Hong Kong, was hit by a financial crisis and left the island last week to sink in the South China Sea, its owner said.

The 76-meter floating behemoth capsized Sunday after it began drawing water in “unfavorable” weather near the Paracel Islands, according to Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based investment firm Melco International Development.

None of the staff were injured, the company said in a statement on Monday.

“The water depth at the site exceeded 1,000 meters, making it very difficult to carry out rescue operations,” the report said.

The ‘Jumbo’, which had been parked in the south of Hong Kong Island for nearly half a century, was inspected before departure, after obtaining ‘all necessary permits’ before departure last Tuesday, the company added.

Operators of the restaurant, which was once a luxury, blamed the COVID-19 epidemic for its permanent closure in March 2020 after nearly a decade of financial problems.

Opened in 1976 by Stanley Howe, the casino king of Macau, who died in 2020, Jumbo marks the height of luxury.

Designed like a Chinese imperial palace and once considered a must-see, the restaurant has attracted famous visitors from Queen Elizabeth II to Tom Cruise.

He has starred in several films, including Steven Soderbergh’s thriller ‘Infection’ about a virus that kills 26 million people worldwide.

In the port of Aberdeen, it is a hotspot for seafood restaurants, and its popularity, especially among tourists, has declined in recent years, even before the Govt-19 epidemic.

Melco International Development, which announced in May the departure of “Jumbo” from Hong Kong to an undisclosed location, noted that the restaurant has been unprofitable since 2013, with losses of more than 100 Hong Kong dollars ($ 12.7 million). )

Its maintenance cost millions of dollars every year.