At least 15 people died when a speedboat carrying Indian tourists capsized off the popular holiday island of Phu Quoc in southern Vietnam, according to local media reports.
The speedboat operated by Ocean Pear Island Company was carrying 36 people when it overturned around 400 metres off May Rut Ngoai islet, the VnExpress website reported.
Everyone on board was thrown into the sea, according to initial information from authorities in the Phu Quoc Special Economic Zone.
Multiple tourist and coast guard boats participated in a rescue effort, during which some people were plucked safely from the water.
One boat owner involved in the rescue told VnExpress that he reached the scene within five minutes, but the operation was hampered because many people were trapped inside the overturned boat.
“Only a few people were brought out conscious,” he said, adding that the sea off An Thoi was rough at the time, although there was no rain and tourist boats were still operating in the area.
A representative of Ocean Pear Island Company said the captain of the speedboat, who is in his 50s, had many years of experience operating passenger boats.
The newspaper Tuoi Tre quoted local police as saying 21 people had been transported to a hospital for emergency treatment. Two were said to be in critical condition. (Story continues below)
Nguyen Tien Hai, a provincial official with the Communist Party, said initial assessments suggested the speedboat may have overturned due to heavy winds and high waves.
Located just south of Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, May Rut Ngoai is a popular diving destination. Visitors often reach the islet by speedboat from the main island.
Phu Quoc has seen a major tourism boom in recent years, with more than 1.8 million foreigners visiting the island last year.
In the first six months of this year, foreign arrivals reached 1.3 million, up 50% from a year earlier, according to the tourism department in An Giang province.
Boating accidents are a regular occurrence in Vietnam, where extreme weather, persistent flooding and inadequate maintenance have led to frequent tragedies.
In July last year, 39 people were killed when a tourist boat ferrying families around the famed Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam capsized in a sudden storm.
