Boat carrying 49 people capsizes in Ha Long: Summer trip turns into tragedy

Rescue forces approach the area where the tourist boat capsized on the afternoon of July 19 - Photo: TIEN NGUYEN

Only 10 lucky people were rescued, authorities found 35 bodies.

On July 20, the ship Bay Xanh QN-7105, after being salvaged off the coast of Ha Long Bay, was towed back to shore by authorities awaiting processing. After more than a day and night of searching, as of yesterday afternoon, four victims were still missing.

Among the 35 victims who died were many children who were traveling with their families. The summer vacation turned into a tragedy for many families when many relatives died in the capsized boat.

The ship capsized in a split second.

Lying in the General Hospital of Quang Ninh province, Mr. Dang Anh Tuan (36 years old, residing in Phu Dien ward, Hanoi ) is still shocked to recall the moment the ship encountered a storm and capsized.

On July 19, Mr. Tuan and his group of friends bought tickets to board the Blue Bay 58 ship to visit Ha Long Bay.

When the boat left the dock about 4km away and was approaching Dau Go Cave, a sudden storm hit. The sky from the scorching sun turned dark, the storm accompanied by strong winds caused the Vinh Xanh boat to tilt with each wave.

Mr. Tuan and the passengers in the cabin panicked and quickly put on their life jackets. Mr. Tuan saw the ship sway for a few seconds and then capsize, all the tourists and crew members on board drowned.

Recalling the terrifying moment, Mr. Tuan said that the boat was very dark, the tables and chairs were all over the place, everyone was panicking and screaming.

"When the water was about to flood the hold, I took a deep breath and dived down. I saw light seeping under the water and dived down to find a way out. At that time, I could only take a deep breath, also determining that it was the last breath because the water had filled the hold. Then I dived down to find a way through the light under the water and luckily escaped," said Mr. Tuan.

After escaping from the ship's hold, Mr. Tuan surfaced and tried to climb onto the bottom of the capsized ship that was protruding above the sea level. After a few minutes of calming down, Mr. Tuan and two others managed to escape and tried to dive down to pull some trapped people out of the ship.

He pulled four people out, but only two survived. After that, exhausted, he tried to hold on to the steering wheel of the ship, drifting at sea for more than two hours, before being rescued by authorities and brought to shore.

30 minutes of breathless rescue of trapped person

At around 3:15 p.m. on July 19, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Van Quan (captain of the Hon Gai Border Gate Procedures Team) received a phone call from Mr. Bui Quang Tuan (head of the operations department of Ha Long International Passenger Port ) informing him that he had lost contact with the ship Vinh Xanh 58.

After hearing Lieutenant Colonel Quan's report on the situation, the Chief of the Border Guard Station at Hon Gai Port immediately called Lieutenant Colonel Le The Dung (deputy chief) to immediately deploy rescue plans.

After a phone call lasting only 10 seconds, heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor of the Border Guard Station at Hon Gai Port.

Lieutenant Colonel Dung directly commanded a team to prepare boats, life jackets and rescue vehicles from the Ha Long Bay Management Board to approach the scene. At the same time, another team from the border guard station on patrol duty in the bay was mobilized to the scene to participate in the search and rescue work.

"The faster we act, the more chance we have to save people's lives, so we try to deploy solutions as quickly as possible," Lieutenant Colonel Dung shared about his mindset when receiving orders to search for victims of the capsized ship.

After 15 minutes of leaving the dock in heavy rain and strong winds, the boat of the Border Guard Station at Hon Gai Port reached the scene of the capsized ship Vinh Xanh 58. On the stern of the ship, which was about 1 meter wide in the middle of the sea, there were three people clinging to the rudder.

"When we arrived, the first boat had already reached the scene and rescued four victims clinging to the ship.

Three people climbed onto the protruding bottom of the ship, clinging to the rudder and waving for help. One woman was exhausted and another was seriously injured by a glass cut on his thigh," Lieutenant Colonel Dung recalled the moment he reached the scene of the capsized ship.

Immediately, Lieutenant Colonel Dung directed the search team to deploy plans to approach the boat to the area where the ship had capsized. A border guard soldier holding a rope jumped onto the bottom of the rising Vinh Xanh ship to find a place to anchor the rescue boat. One by one, the three trapped people were brought down to the boat.

Lieutenant Colonel Dung said that after putting the three victims on the boat, the authorities continued to search the area but found no one calling for help. Realizing that the victims were in poor health, Mr. Dung immediately directed the working group to bring all three people to shore as quickly as possible for emergency treatment.

"From the time we left the dock until we reached the scene, it took about 30 minutes to bring the victims ashore. We determined that we had to race against time and the weather to find a chance of survival for those trapped," Lieutenant Colonel Dung shared.

After the victims were brought ashore, the provincial Border Guard Command sent an ambulance to provide first aid and then transferred them to the provincial hospital. Immediately, the boat of the Hon Gai Port Border Guard Station turned towards the capsized ship to continue the search. When the boat turned back, it picked up three more victims rescued by the Border Guard Squadron 2 ship.

"Some people were still in pain and panic when they were rescued onto the boat, so they borrowed the phones of the border guards to call their families to reassure them. We constantly encouraged them to calm down and stop panicking so we could bring them to shore for emergency treatment," Captain Viet Anh said.

Why not use helicopters to rescue people?

On the afternoon of July 20, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province held a press conference to inform about the case of the ship Vinh Xanh 58 QN-7105 capsized in a storm, killing 35 people and leaving 4 missing.

At the press conference, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van Cong explained the reason for not using helicopters for rescue.

"If you take a helicopter to a place where you can't land, or encounter a storm, it will be dangerous. Using an aircraft depends on many factors such as weather and parking space, so this is not necessary," said Mr. Cong.

Regarding the question of whether tourists are required to wear life jackets when boarding a cruise ship, Mr. Bui Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction - said that according to the law, only passengers traveling on vehicles traveling across rivers are required to wear life jackets throughout the journey, while those traveling long distances only have to wear life jackets when there is a risk of unsafety and the captain will instruct.

"During the salvage process, we found that 80-90% of the victims brought out of the ship were wearing life jackets. That means the captain had previously warned the passengers to wear life jackets and be ready to deal with adverse situations," Mr. Minh informed.

At the press conference, the deputy director of Quang Ninh Provincial Police said that the investigation agency is actively implementing synchronous measures to examine the scene and verify relevant information to conclude the cause of the ship capsize. If there is sufficient evidence, the steps will be taken according to regulations.

Regarding the number of victims, the provincial police leader confirmed that up to this point, based on the investigation results, it was determined that the ship had 3 crew members and 46 tourists, all of whom were Vietnamese.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lat-tau-cho-49-nguoi-o-ha-long-chuyen-du-lich-he-tro-thanh-tham-kich-20250721073055032.htm