Vu Van Thin, a senior official with the Quang Ninh province People's Committee, the local government, said the accident happened when 'part of the boat suddenly broke', but bad weather was not to blame. -- PHOTO: AFP
HANOI - AN OVERNIGHT boat packed with sleeping tourists, including Americans, Australians and Britons, sank early Thursday in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay, killing 11 foreigners and their Vietnamese guide, officials said.
Nine foreign tourists and six locals were rescued from the chilly water by other tour boats anchored nearby. They were rushed to a hospital as teams scoured the area for more survivors.
Those rescued reported seeing a plank of the wooden live-aboard ship ripping away, followed by gushing water inundating the boat and quickly pulling it down around 5 am (6 am S'pore time) near Titov island, said Vu Van Thin, chief administrator of Quang Ninh province.
'Crew members tried to stop the water from coming in and alerted the tourists who were sleeping, but the water came in and the boat sank quickly,' he said. 'All of the 12 people who died were in the cabins.'
There were 27 people on the boat, including six crew members, Thin said. It was anchored alongside dozens of other cruise boats, and weather conditions were calm at the time of the incident.
Twelve bodies have been found, including those of tourists from the US, Australia and Britain, said Ngo Van Hung, director of Ha Long Bay's management board. The body of a Vietnamese tour guide was also recovered, and all of the dead have been sent to Bai Chay Hospital for identification. -- AP
0 Comments:
Post a Comment