Fifteen Indians, including 10 from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala, died on Saturday after a tourist boat capsized off the coast of Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island. The trip had been organised by mobile phone company Lava Mobiles as a reward for dealers and distributors who achieved sales targets, families of the victims said.
The speedboat overturned about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai, an island in the An Thoi archipelago near Phu Quoc, authorities were quoted as saying by news agency Associated Press.
There were 36 people on board, including 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members. Of them, 21 people were rescued.
Survivors recount boat tragedy horror
Murugaraj, a survivor from Tamil Nadu, said the boat had travelled about 2 km into the sea on Saturday morning when a large wave struck it, causing it to tilt to the right and throw passengers onto one another.
“We could not handle the pressure as the ship was overturning. Somehow, we managed to get out through the window and grabbed onto the railings,” he told HT, adding that rescue teams reached them within five minutes.
Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old mobile phone distributor from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, said the tourists had been split into batches and ferried to the island as part of the company trip.
{{/usCountry}}Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old mobile phone distributor from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, said the tourists had been split into batches and ferried to the island as part of the company trip.
{{/usCountry}}"The incident happened around 1:30 pm local time. The boat had gone barely 300 to 400 metres when it tipped over. We were taking pictures, and it happened before we could react," he told news agency PTI.
"The boat had hardly left the island. We were all screaming for help," Kumar said.
Nirmal Kumar, a survivor from Tamil Nadu, told PTI that the speedboat overturned within seconds due to high waves and possible overloading.
Vietnam boat accident
Ten people from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala lost their lives after the boat capsized off Phu Quoc Island, according to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi.
The governments of the three southern states said they are coordinating with the Centre to ensure the bodies are brought back to their respective states at the earliest and to provide all possible support to the grieving families.
Lava said it remained “in close and continuous contact” with the Indian Embassy in Vietnam and local authorities and was working towards “the earliest possible repatriation of the mortal remains.”
The company said its teams in India and Vietnam were staying in touch with the affected families and extending “every possible assistance.”
Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, is a popular tourist destination known for its white sand beaches, coral reefs and island-hopping tours.
With inputs from agencies