A customs officer was rescued from Shenzhen Bay after an apparent car crash

A senior customs officer was confirmed dead this morning after a crash on the Shenzhen Bay Bridge saw his vehicle plunge over crash barriers into the sea.

Customs said the 46-year-old officer, Mr Wong, stationed at Shenzhen Bay Control Point, died “in a fatal traffic accident on his way to work last night”.

Wong was trapped in his vehicle “at the bottom of the sea” according to police.

Police first responded to a “request for assistance” at 9:18pm last night, reclassifying the case as a fatal traffic accident at 2:18am.

Local reports say the call to police came from a concerned citizen who witnessed a vehicle on the northbound carriageway apparently out of control smashing into the railings and then disappearing.

Briefing the media, chief inspector Chui Wing-luen said “Officers found two skid marks on the fast lane [sic] of the road and a damaged road maintenance sign on the slow lane. There were also signs of impact on the railings. We believed the vehicle plunged off the bridge after the accident.”

Fire Service divers were later seen pulling the victim from the water at Lau Fau Sham Public Pier, some 1.75km from the crash site. According to an RTHK report, Fire Services Department said the search for the vehicle had taken two hours and the driver’s body was pulled from the vehicle at around midnight, almost three hours after the initial crash report.

Wong was declared dead at 1:30am at Tin Shui Wai Hospital.

Transport Department CCTV from the scene this morning shows the northbound lane still blocked off, although no damage to railings can be seen in that shot.

The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Louise Ho, expressed “grave grievance” at news of the death, extending deepest condolences to the officer’s family.