A ferry carrying passengers from one of Hong Kong's outlying islands to the main island collided with another ship early Friday morning, injuring 13 people on board.

The ferry operated by New World First Ferry Services Limited was carrying 130 passengers and 4 crew members on its way to the central pier on Hong Kong Island when it collided with the other ship at 5:30 a.m., local broadcast RTHK reported.

A man and a woman among the injured fell into the sea and was soon rescued.

All the injured has been sent to local hospitals, First Ferry said.

The left side of ferry was damaged and police soon arrived to take the injured away for treatment. The ferry went on to the destination as the damages were not serious.

Some of the passengers said the ferry was already slowing down when the collision happened. Most of the passengers were drowsy at the time, they said.

Investigation into the collision was still ongoing. One of the ferry crew members said there had been fog when ships collided but it was not clear whether the fog had caused the accident or not, First Ferry said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2009)