Nightmare at holiday spot, over 35 dead

The Star

3 days ago

Trouble at sea: Tourist boat 'Wonder Sea' is returned to an upright position and towed to a shipyard for investigation after it capsized during a thunderstorm in Ha Long Bay. — AP
Rescuers search­­ed desperately yesterday 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.
The capsized vessel was later righted by the authorities before being towed away for investigation.
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, said: 'The sky turned dark.'
There were 'hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorms and lightning', he added.
Rescued passengers resting in a boat in this screencap from a video footage. — AP
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
Thirty-five bodies had been recovered yesterday and 10 people rescued, 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 board.'
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.
Passengers on the capsized boat being rescued in this screencap from a video footage. — AP
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°C 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.
Tragic event: Rescue workers searching for victims after the boat capsized, in this screencap. — AP
Wipha entered the South China Sea yesterday gaining strength, and is on course to make landfall in Vietnam early this 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. — AFP