A tourist boat carrying families capsized in a storm at Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay on Saturday afternoon, leaving at least 27 people dead as rescue teams raced to locate the missing.
According to state media, the vessel was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members when it overturned in the UNESCO World Heritage site due to sudden heavy rain. Most passengers were families from Hanoi, with more than 20 children on board.
“Border guards rescued 11 people and recovered 27 bodies,” VNExpress reported, adding that eight people remain missing and search efforts are expected to continue overnight.
Witnesses described the storm as sudden and intense. “The sky turned dark around 2 pm with hailstones as big as toes, torrential rain, thunder and lightning,” said Tran Trong Hung, a Ha Long Bay office worker.
A 10-year-old boy who survived told VietnamNet: “I took a deep breath, swam through a gap, dived and surfaced. I shouted for help and was pulled up by a boat with soldiers.”
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh extended condolences to the victims’ families and directed the defense and public security ministries to urgently conduct search and rescue. Authorities vowed to investigate and strictly handle any violations linked to the incident.
Torrential rain also lashed Hanoi, Thai Nguyen, and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday, knocking down trees in the capital 175 km away. The storm followed three days of intense heat, with temperatures reaching 37°C in some areas. The National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting said the storms were unrelated to Tropical Storm Wipha in the South China Sea.
Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations, draws millions of visitors each year. Last year, Typhoon Yagi caused 30 vessels to sink near coastal Quang Ninh province along the bay.
