An engineer on Tuesday said it could be difficult to find the real reason why an engineering vessel broke in two during a typhoon at the weekend. Four of the crew have been rescued and 12 bodies recovered, while another 14 sailors are still missing.

"If the vessel has been in the sea for a long time, it's very difficult to find what the reason is behind. Because the current, the water, as well as the mud. They'll be sometimes shaving off those incident points where it is very difficult for us to identify what is the reason behind," said Louis Szeto, who is a former chairman of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers' Mechanical, Marine, Naval Architecture & Chemical Division.

Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme, Szeto said it was disappointing a decision had been made for the vessel to remain at sea during an approaching typhoon.

He also said salvaging the broken vessel from waters south-west of Hong Kong would be challenging, given that part of it had sunk in the middle of a wind farm and was surrounded by wind turbines.