Cinematographer drowns on set of Jackie Chan film

Video: Chan Kwok-Hung died after a boat carrying eight men capsized

A cinematographer for Jackie Chan's upcoming film Skiptrace has drowned after a vessel capsized 30 metres from shore in Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

51-year-old Chan Kwok-Hung was one of eight men who fell into the sea when their boat capsized; however, the other seven men managed to swim back to shore.

Kwok-Hung was rescued and rushed to North Lantau hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrrival.

The cinematographer was twice nominated for the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Cinematography in 2000 and 2001.

Local reports suggested that Chan was nearby when the incident occurred and that he went to the scene of the capsizing to take part in the rescue attempt.

The actor's publicist said he was "devastated" at the news of Kwok-Hung's death.

The 60-year-old action star wrote on his weibo account on Wednesday, "We were together yesterday...... how can I be so incompetent, not able to save you? My brother, farewell."

The production team of Skiptrace released a statement that read, "Chan's unfortunate departure is a great loss to the production team as well as to Hong Kong cinema".

Skiptrace is a US-China co-produced action comedy starring Chan, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and American actor Johnny Knoxville.

Additional reporting by the AP.