A tourist boat capsized near southern Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island on Saturday, killing at least 15 Indian tourists, state media reported. The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists, according to the Embassy of India in Hanoi, Vietnam. Among those who died, there were two women and 36 men.
After releasing the names of the tourists who were onboard the speedboat, the embassy has now released the names of those who have been killed in the tragedy. Those travelling included:
- Balasubramani Palaniswamy
- Selvam Pitchiah
- Sethil Kumar Jayavel
- Sivakumar Muthukumarasamy
- Nirmal Kumar Sethuraman
- Muruga Prabhu Arumugam
- Ruban Selva Nathan Jacob Yesupatham
- Sridhar Dharmarajan
- Vigneshvar Radhakrishnan Gopal
- Ramasubbu Annavi
- Abuthalkha Zahirudeen
- Sridhar Sundarrajan
- Vamsheedar Cellur Ramraj
- Senjadaivel Kuppusamy
- Nagalamadugu Sohan
- Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja
- Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed
- Rajeev Kalaiyanan
- Balaji Natesan
- Vinaya Kumar Chithapuram Bhaskara
- Ravisankar Sugumaran
- Vipul Uttam Chand
- Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain
- Babu Kuppuswamy
- Alagurajan Sivasamy
- Vasantha Kumar Anandhan
- Sreedhar Mudiam
- Jaya Lakshmi Gelli
- Kishore Gelli
- Avicot Cheriyan Thomas
- Loveni Thomas
- Ramesh Kumar Pachiyappan
Among them, those who lost their lives include Sethil Kumar Jayavel, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam, Sridhar Sundarrajan, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, Balaji Natesan, Vinaya Kumar Chithapuram Bhaskara, Ravisankar Sugumaran, Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain, Babu Kuppuswamy, Alagurajan Sivasamy, Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja, Sreedhar Mudiam, Jaya Lakshmi Gelli, Avicot Cheriyan Thomas and Loveni Thomas.
{{/usCountry}}Among them, those who lost their lives include Sethil Kumar Jayavel, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam, Sridhar Sundarrajan, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, Balaji Natesan, Vinaya Kumar Chithapuram Bhaskara, Ravisankar Sugumaran, Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain, Babu Kuppuswamy, Alagurajan Sivasamy, Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja, Sreedhar Mudiam, Jaya Lakshmi Gelli, Avicot Cheriyan Thomas and Loveni Thomas.
{{/usCountry}}Twenty-one people were rescued, and all the dead were recovered. The injured were taken to the hospitals, authorities said.
Apart from the tourists, the boat was carrying four crew members. It capsized about 400 meters (1,310 feet) from Hon May Rut Ngoai Island, the Associated Press cited the authorities as saying, according to the state media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased in a post on X, saying he was “extremely saddened” after hearing news of the tragedy. “Our Embassy and Consulate are providing all possible assistance. Our officials are also in close contact with the Vietnamese authorities,” PM Modi said, adding that he was praying for the early recovery of the injured survivors.
Nearby boats first responders, ‘few brought out conscious’
According to eyewitnesses cited by VN Express, a Vietnamese online news outlet, nearby tourist boats were the first responders and rushed to the site for assistance within five minutes after spotting the capsizing boat. While a boat owner involved in rescue operations reached the scene within five minutes, the efforts were hampered because several tourists were trapped inside the overturned boat.
"Only a few people were brought out conscious," a boat owner told VN Express. The owner added that the sea off An Thoi was rough at the time, despite there being no rain. However, others boats were still operating in the area.
Following the incident, the An Thoi Border Guard dispatched two vessels and 35 personnel to join rescue efforts alongside the navy, coast guard and other forces. A representative from the Ocean Pear Island Company said the speedboat was taking the tourists on an island-hopping trip. The captain, who was in his 50s, had several years of experience operating passenger boats, according to VN Express.