A man who escaped from a blast that turned a luxury boat into a fireball and which is believed to have killed one of his best friends, said last night: 'I must be the luckiest man alive.' Briton Russell Crump, 28, said he was devastated about his pal and long-time boat skipper Kwok Kam-chi, 45, who is missing presumed dead after the explosion at Sai Kung last Friday.
The blast happened minutes after 1am when the pair returned to the yacht to retrieve Mr Crump's mobile phone, which he had left on board.
Mr Crump, a businessman from London, said: 'I am extremely upset about this. I was on a dinghy and my friend had just got on board the boat when there was a blast and flames came shooting out.
'I was thrown into the water and then managed to climb back on to the dinghy. I must be the luckiest man in the world to be still alive.' He said he and Mr Kwok, a well-known skipper, had planned to sail the boat to Phuket by November and then on to the Philippines, Borneo and Singapore.
'We were waiting for the typhoon season to die down and it should have been a trip to paradise. Mr Kwok, known as Ah Hung to many expatriates, was a man with sea water in his veins. He was made for the sea and the sea for him. I never heard a bad word said against him by anyone.' Mr Crump, who had been sailing with Mr Kwok for 12 years, said he was concerned for Mr Kwok's divorced wife and his son and daughter.
The survivor, who has been in Hong Kong on a two-month holiday, suffered a broken hand and minor injuries in the explosion. He was treated and discharged from United Christian Hospital on Saturday.
Camille Jo Jo, acting for Chris Pudwill, who represents an undisclosed small private company which owned the boat, said his client was also deeply upset.
Mr Pudwill, who is in his 20s, is the son of Horst Pudwill, chairman of Techtronic Industries, an international firm which produces do-it-yourself goods. He was also a friend of Mr Kwok.
Mr Jo Jo refused to name the company that owned the boat, but said Chris Pudwill used it for recreation.
Mr Jo Jo, of solicitors Barlow, Lyde and Gilbert, said both Mr Pudwill and Mr Crump were helping the Marine Department with their investigations into the blast.
Police were still trying to identify whether parts of a body found in the sea on Monday were those of Mr Kwok, who was hurled off the Powless, a 16-metre luxury motor yacht, in the blast off Pak Sha Wan Pier, Sai Kung, on Friday.
A spokesman for the Government said Marine Police were still investigating the incident.
