A tourist boat carrying families capsized in Vietnam’s renowned Ha Long Bay on Saturday, resulting in at least 28 fatalities and leaving over a dozen individuals missing, state media reported.
According to the Dan Tri news site, the vessel was transporting 48 passengers and five crew members when it overturned in the UNESCO World Heritage site due to sudden heavy rainfall.
A report on the VNExpress news site indicated that most of those on board were families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers. “Border guards rescued 12 people and recovered 18 bodies,” the report added. Rescue efforts were slated to continue throughout the night to locate those still missing.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and urged the defense and public security ministries to conduct an urgent search and rescue operation. A statement on the government website affirmed that authorities would “investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and strictly handle violations.”
Tran Trong Hung, a resident of the Ha Long Bay area, told AFP that “The sky turned dark at around 2 pm.” He described “hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning.” Torrential rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday, with strong winds in the capital, Hanoi, felling several trees.
The storm followed three days of intense heat, with temperatures reaching 37 degrees Celsius in some areas. Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, was quoted in VNExpress as stating that the thunderstorms in northern Vietnam were not caused by the influence of Tropical Storm Wipha in the South China Sea.
Ha Long Bay remains one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting millions of visitors annually to its distinctive blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands. Last year, 30 vessels sank in boat lock areas within coastal Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay after Typhoon Yagi brought strong winds and waves. Earlier this month, a ferry capsized off the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing at least 18 people.
