A tourist boat capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, killing at least 38 people and leaving seven others missing. The vessel, named Wonder Sea, was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members on a sightseeing tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to state media.
Rescue workers saved 12 people and recovered 38 bodies near the site of the incident, the VNExpress newspaper reported. Several people remained missing on Sunday. The government said in a statement: "At least 38 of those on board have been confirmed dead and 10 rescued." The official Vietnam News Agency reported that all the tourists were Vietnamese, including several children.
The boat overturned as a result of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, rescued after four hours trapped in the overturned hull. One survivor, Dang Anh Tuan, told the Associated Press that he survived by swimming out of a window of the upturned, water-filled boat.
"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," said the 36-year-old. "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." Tuan and three others survived by clinging to the capsized boat and its propellers, waiting another two hours until the rain stopped and rescue arrived.
Before the accident, passengers had asked for the boat to turn back to shore, but the crew reassured them they were almost at their destination and kept moving forward, Tuan said. VNExpress said most passengers were tourists, including about 20 children from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital. A tropical storm was also moving toward the area, with Storm Wipha expected to hit northern Vietnam, including the coast of Ha Long Bay, later that week.
