Capsized tourist boat in Vietnam. Credit: X @ngahpham
At least 34 people have died, and several remain missing after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay on Saturday, July 19, amid violent weather conditions caused by Storm Wipha.
The vessel, carrying 53 people including families with children, overturned during a sudden storm in the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Storm Wipha
The tourist vessel, named Wonder Sea(s), capsized around 2:00 pm local time, according to local media. The incident occurred as the region was battered by high winds, hailstones, torrential rain, and lightning.
A witness told AFP, “There were hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning.”
According to Sky News, most passengers were Vietnamese tourists from Hanoi, with around 20 children believed to be on board.
So far, 34 bodies have been recovered, eight of them children, and at least 12 survivors have been pulled from the water. One boy, aged 14, was found alive four hours after the accident, having survived in an air pocket trapped inside the hull, VNExpress reported. The rescue operation is ongoing and has been hampered by persistent bad weather.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has expressed condolences to the families of the victims and ordered an investigation into the incident. A government statement said it would “strictly handle violations” linked to the capsizing (Cited by the BBC).
Storm Wipha, the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, is expected to make landfall along Vietnam’s northern coast early next week. Wind speeds reached 63mph (101km/h) with gusts up to 68mph (126km/h), according to local reports.
The storm has already disrupted flights at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport, diverting nine incoming flights and grounding three outgoing ones due to dangerous weather conditions.
Ha Long Bay, about 125 miles (200km) northeast of Hanoi, draws millions of visitors each year. Many take overnight boat tours to explore its limestone islets and caves. In 2019 alone, it welcomed 4 million tourists.
This disaster is a grim reminder of the risks that come with unseasonal weather and increasing storm intensity.
View all world news.
