Jane Lai

    A MAN and a woman suffered minor injuries when their minivan plunged 30 meters off a cliff into the sea near Xiaomeisha in Yantian District on Monday.

    The incident happened just after 8:30 p.m. when the driver, a man identified only as Xia, tried to avoid hitting a cyclist riding on the wrong side of Yankui Road. Xia was on his way to Xiaomeisha.

    Xia made a sudden swerve to the right to avoid hitting the cyclist, but lost control and the van plunged into the sea.

    Xia and his unnamed companion, both in their 30s, suffered only scratches. After being checked at Meisha Hospital in Yantian District, they were both discharged.

    “There were trees that cushioned the fall when our vehicle rolled down from Yankui Road, otherwise we would not have suffered only minor injuries,” Xia said yesterday.

    The cyclist immediately rode off after seeing the van roll down the cliff and fall into the sea, a witness said.

    Two border police mistook the van’s lights as lights from a smuggler’s boat at first. Realizing that it was a vehicle, they reported it to their superiors.

    Rescuers arrived in 10 minutes and pulled Xia and his companion from the sinking minivan in a 20-minute operation.

    The public security authorities said yesterday that the minivan was yet to be recovered from the water.