Tourist boat capsizes during a thunderstorm in Vietnam, leaving 34 dead. 8 people remain missing
The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports.
Rescue workers saved 11 people, and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Authorities had earlier reported that 12 people had been rescued, but later revised the figure to 11.
The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.
The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country's capital.
A tropical storm is also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said that Storm Wipha is expected to hit Vietnam's northern region, including Ha Long Bay's coast next week.
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Dozens dead in Vietnam after Ha Long Bay tourist ferry sinks
Rescuers searched desperately Sunday for four people still missing after at least 35 were killed when a boat capsized at one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations. The 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 site. The vessel "Wonder Sea" was carrying 46 passengers and three crew when it capsized because of sudden heavy rain, according to a provincial police report seen by AFP. Previous state media reports had said that 53 people were on board and 37 people had died, but the figures were later revised by police. Tran Trong Hung, a resident in the Ha Long Bay area, told AFP: "The sky turned dark." There were "hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorms and lightning", he said. Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, state media outlet VNExpress said 35 bodies had been recovered and 10 people rescued by Sunday, police said, with four people still missing. One of the rescued, a 10-year-old boy, told state media outlet VietnamNet: "I took a deep breath, swam through a gap, dived then swam up, I even shouted for help, then I was pulled up by a boat with soldiers on". Prime 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 rescue. Authorities would "investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and strictly handle violations", a government statement said. Torrential rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday. Several trees were knocked down in the capital by strong winds. The storm followed three days of intense heat, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas. Mai 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. Last year, 30 vessels sank at boat lock areas in coastal Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay after Typhoon Yagi brought strong wind and waves. And this month, a ferry sank off the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing at least 18 people. tmh-sjc/fox
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an hour ago
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Five remain missing after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam
Five people remain missing after a boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam during a sightseeing excursion, killing 38 people. The Wonder Sea was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members – all of them Vietnamese – on a tour of the popular destination of Ha Long Bay, according to state media reports. Rescue workers saved 11 people and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. One survivor died in hospital due to their injuries. The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was rescued after four hours trapped in the overturned hull. The newspaper said most of the passengers were tourists from Hanoi, including about 20 children. A tropical storm is also moving towards the area. A national weather forecast said Storm Wipha is expected to hit Vietnam's northern region next week, including Ha Long Bay's coast. One man who survived the capsizing has described his escape from the overturned vessel. Dang Anh Tuan said as the boat embarked on a three-hour excursion, a storm quickly covered the sky, bringing high winds and pouring rain. He said the passengers asked for the boat to turn back to shore, but the crew reassured them they were almost at their destination and kept the vessel moving forward. 'It rained for about 15 minutes, and then the boat started to shake vigorously, tables and chairs were jostled around and seconds later the boat overturned,' the 36-year-old said. 'Water gushed in and I lost all orientation. 'I tried to breathe. But more water came in. I took a deep breath, got rid of my life vest and dove down. I saw a streak of light and followed it to swim out, escaping the boat, and then I climbed on the overturned boat to look for help.' Mr Tuan and three others survived by clinging on to the capsized boat and its propellers, waited another two hours until the rain stopped and rescued arrived. He was a holiday with 11 university friends, only three of whom survived. The other nine members of his group included a man who was travelling with his wife and three-year-old son, who were also killed.
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Tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Halong Bay
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