Tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, leaving 34 dead
Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it said.
"Border guards rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies," it added.
Rescue efforts were set to continue into the night to find the eight still missing.
Ha Long Bay office worker Tran Trong Hung told AFP the storm started in the afternoon.
"The sky turned dark at around 2 pm (0700 GMT)," he said.
There were "hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning", he said.
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."
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and called on the defense 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 statement on the government website said.
Torrential rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday.
In the capital about 175 kilometres (110 miles) away, several trees were knocked down by strong winds.
The storm followed three days of intense heat, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees Celsius 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.
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Bangladesh plane crash kills at least 27, including 25 children
01:28 20/07/2025 Dozens dead after Ha Long Bay tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam Asia / Pacific 20/07/2025 Typhoon Wipha batters Honk Kong and brings disruptions Asia / Pacific 17/07/2025 Taipei holds annual air raid drill to prepare for Chinese attack Asia / Pacific 15/07/2025 India orders airlines to inspect certain Boeing models after Air India crash Asia / Pacific 13/07/2025 Taiwan tightens security after spy scandals, prompting rights concerns Asia / Pacific 12/07/2025 Investigation into Air India crash finds engines starved of fuel Asia / Pacific 12/07/2025 German backpacker found alive after 12 days missing in Western Australian Asia / Pacific 11/07/2025 Historian Audrey Truschke retraces 5,000 years of Indian history Asia / Pacific 11/07/2025 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Chinese FM at Asia summit Asia / Pacific
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Typhoon Wipha batters Honk Kong and brings disruptions
01:30 20/07/2025 Dozens dead after Ha Long Bay tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam Asia / Pacific 17/07/2025 Taipei holds annual air raid drill to prepare for Chinese attack Asia / Pacific 15/07/2025 India orders airlines to inspect certain Boeing models after Air India crash Asia / Pacific 13/07/2025 Taiwan tightens security after spy scandals, prompting rights concerns Asia / Pacific 12/07/2025 Investigation into Air India crash finds engines starved of fuel Asia / Pacific 12/07/2025 German backpacker found alive after 12 days missing in Western Australian Asia / Pacific 11/07/2025 Historian Audrey Truschke retraces 5,000 years of Indian history Asia / Pacific 11/07/2025 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to Chinese FM at Asia summit Asia / Pacific 11/07/2025 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at ASEAN summit in Malaysia Asia / Pacific
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Dozens dead in Vietnam after Ha Long Bay tourist ferry sinks
The tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam's famed Ha Long Bay was lashed by a storm on Saturday in one of the UNESCO World Heritage site's deadliest disasters. The "Wonder Sea" vessel was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members when it capsized because of sudden heavy rain, the VNExpress news site said. Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it said. Border guards had rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies by Saturday evening, it added. Overnight three crew members' bodies were found in the cabin and rescue efforts continued into Sunday morning to find the five 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 the families of the deceased 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. Tran Trong Hung, a resident in the Ha Long Bay area, told AFP: "The sky turned dark at around 2:00 pm." There were "hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning", he 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.
