A tourist boat capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, killing 38 people and leaving seven others missing.
The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members on a sightseeing the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, state media reported.
Rescue workers saved 12 people and recovered 38 bodies near the site of the incident, the VNExpress newspaper said. Several people remained missing on Sunday.
“At least 38 of those on board have been confirmed dead and 10 rescued,” the government said in a statement.
The official Vietnam News Agency reported that all the tourists were Vietnamese, including several children.
The boat overturned as a result of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors. He was rescued after four hours trapped in the overturned hull.
One survivor, Dang Anh Tuan, told the Associated Press that he survived by swimming out of a window of the upturned and water-filled boat.
“It rained for about 15 minutes, and then the boat started to shake vigorously, tables and chairs were jostled around and seconds later the boat overturned,” said the 36-year-old. “Water gushed in and I lost all orientation.
“I tried to breathe. But more water came in. I took a deep breath, got rid of my life vest and dove down. I saw a streak of light and followed it to swim out, escaping the boat, and then I climbed on the overturned boat to look for help.”
Tuan and three others survived by clinging on to the capsized boat and its propellers, waiting another two hours until the rain stopped and rescue arrived.
Before the accident, passengers had asked for the boat to turn back to shore, but the crew reassured them they were almost at their destination and kept the boat moving forward, Tuan said.
VNExpress said most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital.
A tropical storm was also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said Storm Wipha was expected to hit northern Vietnam, including the coast of Ha Long Bay next week.
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