
At least 18 dead, dozens missing after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay
"On the afternoon of July 19, the Wonder Sea tourist boat carrying 53 people capsized. Border guards rescued 12 people and recovered 18 bodies," said a report on the VNExpress news site.
Ha Long Bay is one of the country's top tourist attractions, drawing more than 5 million visitors a year to the province where 1,600 stunning jagged rock formations rise out of the bay, forming tiny islands. Many visitors stay overnight on wooden boats equipped with sleeping cabins and eating quarters.
The bay has seen boats go down in the past. In February 2011, 12 people died after a tour boat sank. In 2009, a tour boat sank during a storm, killing five, including three foreign vacationers. In 2006, a powerful wind storm capsized several boats, killing 13 people, though no tourists were among the dead. In 2002, strong winds capsized two tourist boats, killing several foreigners.
Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site dotted with limestone formations, is located near the Chinese border in the Gulf of Tonkin about three hours east of the capital, Hanoi.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Zawya
a day ago
- Zawya
UAE tax authority announces $871mln in tax refunds for Emiratis building new residences by June
ABU DHABI: The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) continues to see strong results from its digital VAT refund systems for eligible categories, maintaining high levels of accuracy and operational efficiency throughout 2025. The FTA today revealed the results of these systems for the first half of the year, including the VAT refund system for new residences for UAE nationals and the VAT refund system for tourists. The FTA announced that, since the launch of the service approximately eight years ago and up until June 2025, the total number of approved applications for VAT refunds related to new residences for UAE nationals reached approximately 38,000, amounting to a total value of AED3.2 billion. This marks a significant increase from the 31,000 approved applications valued at AED2.54 billion by June 2024, reflecting a 22.74% growth in the number of applications and a 25.72% increase in the value of refunds within the past year. The FTA also highlighted that more than 7,000 new applications for VAT refunds for UAE nationals building new residences were approved between June 2024 and June 2025, amounting to AED653.1 million. Furthermore, in the first half of 2025 alone, 3,097 new applications were approved, resulting in refunds totalling AED284.77 million. The FTA highlighted the continued significant expansion of the digital tax refund system for tourists, as the number of retail shops electronically linked to the system saw consistent growth across all emirates. By the end of June 2025, the number of outlets registered with the Authority and connected to the system had increased to 18,410 shops, compared to 17,720 shops by the end of 2024 and approximately 17,080 shops by June 2024. The FTA further noted that 697 outlets connected to the system in the first half of 2025, up from 540 outlets during the same period in 2024, marking an increase of over 29%. This brings the total number of outlets that have joined the digital tax refund system for tourists in the past two years, including the first half of 2025, to 3,390 outlets. With regard to the self-service machines that fully automate the tax refund process for tourists departing the country in approximately two minutes per transaction, which are available at major shopping malls, hotels, and departure points for tourists, the number of these machines reached 96 by the end of June. Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General of the FTA, said, 'The indicators reflect the ongoing development and upgrade of our digital systems in line with global best practices, and in alignment with the UAE's digital transformation strategy. The Authority's initiatives in this regard have positively impacted the overall quality and performance of its services, particularly the digital VAT refund systems for eligible categories. 'Notable examples include the tax refund services for new residences for UAE nationals and VAT refund for tourists, which have undergone continuous improvement to streamline and expedite the refund process. 'Among the key initiatives in this area is the 'Maskan' smart application, which enhances the ease and convenience of VAT refunds for UAE nationals, and relies on paperless procedures with 100% fully digitised procedures.' Al Bustani added, 'As part of its efforts to develop digital services, FTA launched last December the world's first e-commerce purchases VAT refund system for tourists during their stay in the UAE, supporting the UAE's leadership in all sectors, including the tourism sector and the e-commerce sector, in continuation of what has been achieved in this field, where more than two years ago the Authority launched the digital VAT refund system for tourists, which is based on 100% paperless procedures and is constantly updated, and provides a digital platform that allows tourists to scan their passports easily, and automatically share their transactions as digital invoices, check their invoices through the shopper portal for a seamless shopping experience, and receive a refundable tax credit for their purchases in a convenient and fully digitalised manner.' He stressed that the Authority would continue to launch and implement various projects and initiatives in the field of digital transformation in the tax sector to keep pace with the government's digital transformation strategy placed for all services based on smooth and proactive digital infrastructure, supporting efforts to reduce bureaucracy and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.


Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
Tourist ferry sinks in #Vietnam, 38 dead
20 July 2025 09:06 HALONG BAY (AFP)Rescuers searched desperately Sunday for five people still missing after at least 38 were killed when a boat capsized at one of Vietnam's most popular tourist tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam's famed Ha Long Bay was lashed by a sudden storm Saturday in one of the deadliest disasters at the UNESCO World Heritage vessel "Wonder Sea" was carrying 48 passengers and five crew when it capsized because of sudden heavy rain, the VNExpress news site of those on board were families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it guards had rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies by Saturday evening, it the bodies of three crew members were found in the cabin, and rescue efforts continued into Sunday morning to find the five people still of the rescued died in hospital on Sunday, bringing the toll to 38, VNExpress Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his condolences on Saturday to relatives of those killed and called on the defence and public security ministries to conduct urgent search and would "investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and strictly handle violations", a government statement rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday. Several trees were knocked down in the capital by strong storm followed three days of intense heat, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in some Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, was quoted in VNExpress as saying that the thunderstorms in northern Vietnam were not caused by the influence of Tropical Storm Wipha in the South China Sea. Wipha entered the South China Sea on Sunday gaining strength, and is on course to make landfall in Vietnam early next week. Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of people visiting its blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands each year.


Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Khaleej Times
At least 18 dead, dozens missing after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay
At least 18 people have died and dozens remain missing after a tourist boat carrying more than 50 people capsized on July 19 in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, state media said. "On the afternoon of July 19, the Wonder Sea tourist boat carrying 53 people capsized. Border guards rescued 12 people and recovered 18 bodies," said a report on the VNExpress news site. Ha Long Bay is one of the country's top tourist attractions, drawing more than 5 million visitors a year to the province where 1,600 stunning jagged rock formations rise out of the bay, forming tiny islands. Many visitors stay overnight on wooden boats equipped with sleeping cabins and eating quarters. The bay has seen boats go down in the past. In February 2011, 12 people died after a tour boat sank. In 2009, a tour boat sank during a storm, killing five, including three foreign vacationers. In 2006, a powerful wind storm capsized several boats, killing 13 people, though no tourists were among the dead. In 2002, strong winds capsized two tourist boats, killing several foreigners. Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site dotted with limestone formations, is located near the Chinese border in the Gulf of Tonkin about three hours east of the capital, Hanoi.