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 victims’ families said the trip was organized by mobile phone company Lava Mobiles as a reward for dealers and distributors who achieved sales targets.
The Associated Press news agency quoted authorities as saying that the speedboat capsized about 400 meters off Hon My Rout Ngoi, an island in the An Thuy archipelago near Phu Quoc.
There were 36 people on board, including 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members. Of them, 21 people were rescued.
Survivors tell of the horrific boat tragedy
Murugaraj, a survivor from Tamil Nadu, said the boat had traveled about two kilometers out to sea on Saturday morning when it was hit by a large wave, causing it to tilt to the right and throw passengers on top of each other.
“We couldn’t handle the pressure as the ship capsized. Somehow, we managed to get out of the window and cling to the railing,” he told HT, adding that rescue teams reached them within five minutes.
Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old mobile phone distributor from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, said the tourists were divided into batches and taken to the island as part of the company’s trip.
“The accident happened around 1:30 pm local time. The boat was barely moving 300 to 400 meters when it capsized. We were taking pictures, and it happened before we could react,” he told news agency PTI.
“The boat had barely left the island,” Kumar said. “We were all screaming for help.”
Nirmal Kumar, a survivor from Tamil Nadu, told PTI that the speedboat capsized 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 died after the boat capsized off Phu Quoc Island, according to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi.
The governments of the three southern states said that they are coordinating with the Center to ensure that the bodies are returned to their states as soon as possible and to provide all possible support to the grieving families.
Lava said she has remained in “close and constant contact” with the Indian Embassy in Vietnam and local authorities, and is working to “repatriate the remains as soon as possible.”
The company said its teams in India and Vietnam remain in contact with the affected families and are providing “all possible assistance.”
Phu Quoc, the largest island in Vietnam, is a popular tourist destination known for its white sand beaches, coral reefs and island hopping tours.
With input from agencies
