Vietnamese rescuers are looking for five missing on Sunday, the day after the sinking of a tourist ship that left at least 38 dead in Halong Bay, one of the most popular destinations in the country.
The Wonder Sea, with 48 passengers on board, more than 20 children and five crew members, overturned due to sudden and heavy rains on Saturday afternoon, while visiting this Unesco World Heritage site.
11 people survived on Saturday
During the night, the bodies of three crew members were found by the Coast Guard in the boat cabin, while one of the 11 people who survived on Saturday died in the hospital on Sunday, taking a balance of 38 dead, Vnexpress media said.
According to this information site, the ship mainly transported families that visited from the capital of Hanoi. At the main funeral home of Ha Long, AFP journalists saw bodies wrapped in red fabric transported on stretchers, while relatives cried in front of a dozen coffins.
A 68 -year -old man, who asked not to be designated, said he hastened at the scene at 3 am to discover that his relatives, a family of four, including two children, died in the sinking.
“We were all shocked,” he told AFP crying. “It was a very sudden accident. They simply took the children to the bay during the summer holidays and ended horribly.”
The authorities will “investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and be careful” this accident, said a statement published on the government website.
Halong Bay, visited by millions of people every year, is one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations, recognized for its blue waters and limestone islands decorated with tropical forests.
In 2024, 30 ships sank in the coastal province of Quang Ninh, throughout Halong’s bay, after being affected by Typhon Yagi.
Source: BFM TV
