A tourist boat transporting families around Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay capsized during a storm on Saturday afternoon, resulting in at least 34 fatalities, as reported by state media, while rescuers worked diligently to find the missing.
The vessel was carrying 48 passengers along with five crew members when it overturned in the UNESCO World Heritage site due to sudden heavy rainfall, according to the VNExpress news outlet.
The majority of those on board were families visiting from the capital city of Hanoi, which included over 20 children among the passengers, as stated.
“Border guards managed to rescue 11 individuals and recover 34 bodies,” it noted.
The boat flipped over as a result of strong winds, the newspaper reported. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, having been rescued four hours after being trapped inside the capsized hull.
The newspaper indicated that most of the passengers were tourists, including approximately 20 children, from Hanoi, the nation’s capital.
A tropical storm is also advancing towards the area. A national weather forecast has indicated that Storm Wipha is anticipated to impact Vietnam’s northern region, including the coastline of Ha Long Bay, next week.
In the meantime, a tropical storm named Wipha is nearing the area. Vietnam’s national weather service has predicted that the storm is likely to influence the northern coast, including Ha Long Bay, in the upcoming week.
