Vietnamese authorities said they arrested the captain of a speedboat that capsized near the southern island of Phu Quoc on Sunday, killing 15 Indian tourists.
State media reported that the accident occurred on Saturday when the boat carrying 32 Indian tourists, three Vietnamese crew members and a tour guide capsized amid rough waves off Mai Rout Ngwai Island.
Sailors and rescue workers recovered 21 people, but 15 passengers died, Tui Tre newspaper reported.
Police in the southern province of An Giang said they arrested the 57-year-old boat captain on charges of “violating the rules” which led to it capsizing.
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Tuoi Tre reported that “initial assessments by Vietnamese authorities indicated that this was an unavoidable accident due to extreme weather conditions” which quickly turned around.
Official media quoted sailors who participated in the rescue efforts as saying that there were high waves but there was no rain at the time, and several other tourist boats were operating in the area.
One witness, Ha Van Loc, said he saw the overturned boat with about ten men clinging to its hull.
Many people were drifting in the sea and were not wearing life jackets, Luke said, according to state broadcaster VNExpress.
Locke and his crew threw lifebuoys with ropes to pull them aboard his boat and called for additional help, using jet skis used to transport victims to shore.
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The New Delhi embassy in Hanoi said on Sunday that at least 15 survivors had been discharged from hospital and were returning to India, adding that one person was in critical condition receiving treatment at a hospital in Phu Quoc.
The embassy said that the bodies of the 15 dead would be transported to India.
May Rut Ngoai is located south of Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam’s largest island, and is known for its clear blue waters, white sand beaches and easily accessible coral reefs.
Visitors often reach the island and other nearby places via speedboat from the main island.
Official media reports said on Sunday that several tourism companies had suspended inter-island speedboat services after the deadly capsize.
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Phu Quoc has witnessed a major tourism boom in recent years, with more than 1.8 million foreigners visiting the island last year.
Boating accidents are a frequent occurrence in the Southeast Asian country, where severe weather, frequent floods and inadequate maintenance have led to tragedies.
