Hong Kong ferry disaster verdict leaves families 'outraged'

Hong Kong: Family members of those killed in a Hong Kong ferry collision more than a decade ago were outraged by a long awaited coroner s verdict, s...

Hong Kong: Family members of those killed in a Hong Kong ferry collision more than a decade ago were "outraged" by a long-awaited coroner's verdict, saying Thursday that it offered little accountability or closure.

The Lamma IV ferry sank after colliding with another vessel on October 1, 2012 killing 31 adults and eight children in what became the Chinese city's deadliest maritime disaster since 1971.

Victim representatives fought an uphill legal battle to persuade the coroner's court to hold an inquest, which it finally did last year.

As Coroner Monica Chow delivered the verdict on Thursday, about half a dozen family members stormed from the courtroom, local media reported.

"I can speak on behalf of all the family members... we are extremely disappointed," sales manager Alice Leung, who lost her brother in the incident, told reporters at the West Kowloon law courts building.