The Hollywood film set Jumbo Floating Restaurant has been closed since March 2020 due to the Covid19 pandemic
Peter PARKS / AFP
Hong Kong lost an old tourist attraction on Sunday 19. The jumbo floating restaurant, once the setting for Hollywood movies, sank in the South China Sea just a week after leaving the international financial hub, the owner company said. The 76meterlong floating giant with seating for 2,300 guests capsized off the Paracel Islands on Sunday after encountering adverse conditions and began to take on water, Aberdeen Restaurant Enterprises said in a statement, adding: “The water depth at the site is about 1,000 meters, which makes it extremely difficult to carry out rescue work,” the company said, stressing that it was “very sad about the incident” and warning that there were no injuries.
The Jumbo Floating Restaurant was towed out of town after failed negotiations to save the ailing tourist attraction
Opened by Stanley Ho in 1976, the Hong Kong Jumbo was a symbol of luxury. Investment firm Melco International Development, which owns the venue, announced in May that the restaurant left the financial center before its license expired and found a new operator abroad, but did not reveal the new destination. According to the company, the facility has not been profitable since 2013 and accumulated losses exceeded HK$100 million, about US$12.7 million. Designed as a Chinese imperial palace, the restaurant is considered a mustvisit. It has attracted distinguished visitors such as the Queen. Elizabeth II and Tom cruise, and has appeared in several films, including Steven Soderbergh’s science thriller Contagion, about a virus that kills 26 million people worldwide. Due to the corona pandemic, the facility has been closed since March 2020. Covid19.