Boat carrying Indian tourists capsizes off Vietnam, 15 feared dead
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A boat carrying Indian tourists capsized off Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island on Saturday.
15 people are likely dead. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, according to local media reports.
According to VN Express International, the speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four crew members from Hon May Rut to An Thoi Port when it overturned around 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai, throwing everyone on board into the sea.
The passengers included five tourists from Andhra Pradesh and 17 from Tamil Nadu. Initial reports said two people from Andhra Pradesh were rescued safely, while the remaining passengers were taken to hospital.
Authorities in the Phu Quoc Special Economic Zone said nearby tourist boats were the first to respond before border guards, the navy, coast guard, and other emergency agencies joined the large-scale search and rescue operation.
Local media reported that 15 people had died in the accident. However, the Indian Embassy in Vietnam has not yet officially confirmed the death toll.
In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi described the incident as tragic and said it had established emergency control rooms at both the Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City to assist affected tourists and their families.
The embassy said rescue operations were ongoing and that officials were coordinating closely with Vietnamese authorities while providing assistance to those affected.