International superstar Jackie Chan blames himself for his cameraman’s death.
A boat carrying eight crew members capsized on Wednesday at around 3am while filming upcoming movie Skiptrace. Seven of them swam safely to shore but cameraman Chan Kwok-hung, who was the only one donning a life jacket, was found to be missing. He was discovered unconscious an hour later and rushed to the hospital but eventually passed away.
Those at the scene revealed that the waves were extremely strong. They added that the production crew would usually have a diver on standby in case of any accidents but Wednesday was an exception.
After the news of the unfortunate incident broke, a flurry of rumours that Jackie jumped into the waters to rescue the cameraman emerged. However, those present stated that he was making preparations on shore and rushed to the scene after finding out about the accident.
Jackie Chan blames himself for cameraman’s death © Provided by xinmsn Jackie Chan blames himself for cameraman’s death
Jackie Chan took to his microblog to share his memories with his cameraman and blamed himself for being incompetent and unable to save his brother in time.
Chan Kwok-hung was a veteran cameraman in the Hong Kong film and television industry, and was involved in productions such as The White Storm and Fly Me to Polaris. He was twice nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards and is said to have built up good relationships in the industry with his professionalism and dedication. He leaves behind his wife, son and daughter.
Director Jingle Ma, whom he learned the ropes from, expressed his disbelief at the news whereas Richie Jen, who has worked with the cameraman, expressed that the appropriate security measures should be put in place before work continues on the film.