Hong Kong's iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant sinks

HONG KONG • Jumbo Floating Restaurant, a faded landmark of Hong Kong, has sunk in the South China Sea after being towed away from the city to an unknown destination.

The imperial palace-shaped vessel capsized on Sunday after taking on water in adverse conditions near the Paracel Islands, its owner Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said in a statement.

Salvage would be extremely difficult given the water depth of 1,000m, it said, adding that no crew members were injured.

For more than four decades, the Chinese restaurant was a familiar sight in Aberdeen harbour, on the south side of Hong Kong island.

Opened by Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho in 1976, it drew visitors including Queen Elizabeth II and Tom Cruise, according to the restaurant's website. It also featured in films including Contagion. But its attraction waned in recent years, and the coronavirus pandemic forced it to suspend operations.

Its owner, a unit of Melco Resorts & Entertainment, earlier tried to donate the restaurant to an amusement park but the plan fell through, the company said in a previous statement. The restaurant had accumulated losses of HK$100 million (S$17.6 million) since 2013, its owner said last month.

The company planned to move the restaurant out of the city for maintenance and storage while it looked for new owners and a cheaper berth.

Aberdeen Restaurant is "very saddened by this accident", according to the statement.

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

BLOOMBERG