Hanoi (Vietnam) | Fifteen Indian tourists were killed after a speedboat they were travelling in capsized off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island on Saturday, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said.
There were 36 people – 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members – on board. Of them, 21 were rescued.
The Vietnam government ordered an immediate investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident.
Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island, is a major tourist destination, known for its white-sand beaches, coral reefs and island-hopping excursions. The tourists in this case were reportedly returning from an island trip.
The speedboat capsized about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai, an island in the An Thoi archipelago off the coast of Phu Quoc, Vietnamese news portal VN Express International reported.
The report said nearby tourist boats rushed to pull passengers from water before the border guards, the navy, the coast guard and other forces joined the search-and-rescue operation.
It also quoted eyewitnesses saying some of the passengers were trapped inside the overturned boat, which made rescue difficult.
The bodies of all the deceased tourists have been recovered, according to local media reports.
Of the 15 victims, 10 were from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two were from Kerala. Two of the deceased were women, according to a list shared by the Indian Embassy in Hanoi on X.
According to the list, the deceased from Tamil Nadu were identified as Senthil Kumar Jayavel, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam, Sridhar Sundararajan, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, Balaji Natesan, Vinaya Kumar Chithirapuram Bhaskara, Ravisankar Sugumaran, Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain, Babu Kuppuswamy and Alagurajan Sivasamy.
The deceased from Andhra Pradesh were identified as Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja, Sreedhar Mudiam and Jaya Lakshmi Gelli while those from Kerala were identified as Avicot Cheriyan Thomas and Loveni Thomas. The governments in the three southern states have issued helpline numbers to assist relatives of the affected persons.
“A big wave hit us, 20 people came out of it, and the balance members got stuck,” Nirmal Kumar, a survivor, told PTI Videos.
“It's a closed boat. Since we were in the front, we (Kumar and a friend) managed to survive. Others who were behind, got stuck. The boat authorities maintained proper safety measures,” he said.
Television footage aired by Vietnamese media showed rough seas and strong winds as rescue teams threw life buoys to people in the water, AP news agency reported. Jet skis were used to ferry survivors to the shore, where bystanders administered first aid to some of the victims, it said.
The exact cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has ordered an investigation into the cause of the accident and directed authorities to hold those responsible accountable, VN Express International said in another report.
He also asked officials to review waterway and maritime safety measures in the area of the accident and other similar locations, the news portal reported.
The Indian Embassy and Consulate in Vietnam are providing all possible assistance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
“Extremely saddened to learn about the tragic news of a boat accident involving Indian nationals near Phu Quoc, Vietnam,” PM Modi said.
“My sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. My prayers for the early recovery of the injured survivors. Our Embassy and Consulate are providing all possible assistance. Our officials are also in close contact with the Vietnamese authorities,” he added.
President Droupadi Murmu said in a social media post, “Saddened by the news of a boat accident in Vietnam in which many Indian nationals lost their lives. My deep condolences to the grieving families. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured.”
Political leaders, cutting across party lines, from all over India took to social media to express their condolences over the incident.
New Delhi | A boat carrying a group of Indian tourists that capsized off an island in south Vietnam on Saturday had barely travelled 300-400 metres from the shore when it suddenly overturned, an Indian national who witnessed the tragedy said.
Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old distributor of a mobile phone company from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur, said the tourists were divided into batches and ferried to the island as part of a company outing.
"We had all gone there as sellers, distributors and employees of Lava Mobile. We reached Vietnam on July 9 and were supposed to return to India on Sunday morning," Kumar told PTI over the phone.
According to him, one of the three boats, carrying 32 Indian tourists, had left the Hon May Rut Ngoai island for another island, while the remaining two groups were still on Hon May Rut Ngoai, taking photographs.
"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 said.
"The boat had hardly left the island. We were all screaming for help," Kumar said, adding that the weather conditions were not adverse.
"There was some wind but that is expected in an island," he said.
He said rescue teams reached the spot soon after and brought the survivors and bodies back to the shore, but claimed that no medical teams were immediately available.
"The rescue teams got active and the bodies were brought back. However, there were no medical teams even to administer CPR. We are all in a state of shock," he said.
Kumar said while he was travelling alone, several members of the group had come with their families.
"A distributor friend I know was travelling with his wife on the boat. His wife has died, while he is fighting for his life in a hospital," he said.
The group has since returned to its hotel, he added.
In a statement, Lava International said it is "deeply saddened" by the tragedy and confirmed that those involved included some of its channel partners and team members.
"We are in constant touch with the Embassy of India in Vietnam and the local authorities to gather information about the safety and well-being of our people. Our immediate priority is to extend all possible support to those affected and their families," the company said.
It said its teams in both India and Vietnam are in regular contact with the families, providing all possible assistance.
Fifteen Indian tourists were killed in the incident, according to Vietnamese media reports. The speedboat also had four crew members on board when the accident occurred.
