A man eager to win a HK$110 million (US$14 million) jackpot suffered a leg injury and had to be rescued by emergency services after jumping into a 5m deep dry canal in a bid to retrieve a lottery ticket swept away by a gust of wind.
The episode happened about noon today, shortly after the man bought the Mark Six lottery slip at a Hong Kong Jockey Club branch on Castle Peak Road, according to a witness who spoke to on.cc.
As the man left the store, sudden gust of wind caught the ticket and carried it into a dry canal next to the road, the witness said.
With little hesitation, perhaps feeling the chance of becoming a multi-millionaire had just slipped through his fingers, he dived in after it.
He could not get out.
Unable to move, with his knee swelling, the man rang emergency services. Paramedics and police officers soon arrived and, after hoisting him out, took him to hospital.
Though he might have been alone in the canal, the man was certainly not alone in his bid to win the Mark Six lottery, the first prize of which grew to HK$110 million after no one claimed the previous jackpot.
Hongkongers rushed to buy tickets for the draw tomorrow evening, with queues reported all over town.
“When my friend told me that the first prize was HKD110,000,000, I decided to buy one and try my luck,” a woman from Malaysia and a first time lottery ticket buyer, told on.cc.
Reader Interactions