At least 37 people have been killed and several more are missing after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay during severe bad weather, authorities announced. The accident occurred on Saturday afternoon when a sudden storm broke out while the “Wonder Seas” boat was carrying a total of 53 passengers, most of them Vietnamese families visiting the capital, Hanoi.
According to search and rescue services, eleven people were pulled out alive, including a ten-year-old boy who managed to survive trapped under the overturned boat. “I took a deep breath, dived, and swam up. A boat pulled me out,” the young survivor told state media outlet VietnamNet.
Search Efforts Continue Amidst Challenging Conditions
The rescue operation continued late into the night under difficult weather conditions, with authorities still searching for at least 5 more missing persons. Of the bodies recovered so far, at least eight belonged to children, according to the news portal VNExpress. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as the storm suddenly hit the area. “The sky darkened around 2 PM. Hail as big as toes fell, while lightning and torrential rain turned the landscape into chaos,” a passenger told AFP.
Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, attracts millions of visitors annually and is known for its hundreds of islets. In 2019, it recorded a record number of visitors with more than four million tourists.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, while authorities pledged to conduct a full investigation into the causes of the tragedy and hold those responsible accountable in case of irregularities or negligence.
