Hong Kong - Fifteen people were injured when two passenger ferries collided in busy waters off Hong Kong, marine police said Wednesday.

The accident happened when a ferry carrying 140 passengers and crew from Hong Kong to Macau collided with a ferry carrying 248 passengers from Cheung Chau island to Hong Kong Tuesday evening.

Windows were smashed and the two ferries brought to a shuddering halt in the busy waterway near Cheung Chau after the collision at around 8:30 pm, witnesses said.

A marine police spokesman said Wednesday 15 people were injured in the incident and police vessels called in to escort the two ferries back to port. None of the victims was seriously injured.

Tens of thousands of people use ferries running between Hong Kong, Macau and outlying islands such as Cheung Chau every day in one of the world's busiest stretches of commercial shipping. (dpa)