Ha Long boat capsize: Try to find missing people before tonight; There will be a mechanism to support orphans

The Green Bay QN-7105 tourist ship was towed to Cai Lan port on the morning of July 20 - Photo: NAM TRAN

On the afternoon of July 20, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, chaired 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.

The press conference also had Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Nhan, Deputy Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department.

A sudden storm caused the ship to capsize.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, yesterday, July 19, in the province and some provinces and cities, there was a very complicated storm. The storm caused the Vinh Xanh ship to capsize in Ha Long Bay, causing extremely heavy human damage.

Immediately upon receiving the information, provincial leaders went directly to the scene to direct functional forces to organize search and rescue.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, at the press conference - Photo: NAM TRAN

Mr. Cu Quoc Thang, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Provincial Police, added: after the accident, the provincial police leaders directly went to the scene, mobilized 14 ships, high-speed boats and 200 officers and soldiers to coordinate the implementation of rescue plans continuously and throughout the night.

Up to now, the police force has coordinated with other forces to rescue 10 people and 35 bodies. Currently, the authorities have handed over 35 victims' bodies to their families for burial.

Provincial police are continuing to coordinate with functional forces and mobilize vehicles to urgently search for the four missing victims.

The provincial police have also directed the Investigation Police Agency to urgently focus on investigating and clarifying the cause of the ship capsize to handle it in accordance with legal regulations, and will inform the news agencies when there are results.

Mr. Cu Quoc Thang, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Provincial Police, informed about the accident - Photo: NAM TRAN

Seize the "golden time" to find missing people

At the press conference, Colonel Hoang Van Thuyet, political commissar of the Quang Ninh Provincial Military Command, said the ship capsized due to a sudden tornado. Upon receiving the information, the agency reported to the leaders of the Military Region Command to deploy plans.

By the evening of July 19, 1,000 people and over 100 vehicles had been mobilized to participate in the search and rescue. Of these, more than 500 fishermen familiar with the waterways were mobilized to participate in the search for victims and salvage of the wrecked ship.

"Currently, the command center continues to direct the search force, taking advantage of the golden hour to search for the victims. According to forecasts, storm number 3 has entered the East Sea, if the storm enters, the search will be forced to stop.

From now until tonight, authorities will continue to actively deploy plans, hoping to find the remaining missing victims," he said.

Overview of the capsized ship Blue Bay 58 carrying 49 people in Ha Long Bay

80-90% of victims were wearing life jackets.

At the press conference, some reporters asked about the management of departures of ships and boats in Ha Long Bay and the standards for tourist ships operating in the province. Along with that, are tourists required to wear life jackets when boarding the ship?

Mr. Bui Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction, said that according to regulations, tourist boats on Ha Long Bay must have safety standards higher than national standards, and 100% of boats have met them. The Green Bay boat has a stable safety factor of 2.3 (the standard is 1).

Regarding the question of whether tourists are required to wear life jackets when boarding a cruise ship, Mr. Minh said that according to the law, only passengers traveling on a vehicle traveling across the river are required to wear life jackets throughout the journey. Those traveling long distances must only wear life jackets when there is a risk of unsafety and the captain will instruct them.

"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.

The storm warning was sent after the ship had departed.

Mr. Bui Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh province - Photo: NAM TRAN

Mr. Bui Hong Minh, deputy director of the Department of Construction, added that the port authority has a separate contract with the Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to provide bulletins three times a day, based on which there are regulation plans.

For yesterday, July 19, the morning and noon weather forecast both announced that Ha Long Bay had level 2 and level 3 winds, with no further warnings.

At 1:30 p.m., the forecast center sent a storm warning bulletin, but the ship had already departed.

"As soon as we received the additional storm warning, the port authority issued a notice to stop issuing licenses to all cruise ships and informed the ship owners about the weather situation," said Mr. Minh.

Why did the ship capsize 3 hours later before rescuing people?

Also at the press conference, a reporter reported that a victim reported that he was rescued 3 hours after the ship capsized. In response, Mr. Hoang Van Thuyet said: Yesterday afternoon, July 19, the weather was very sunny. However, at 2:00 p.m., a sudden thunderstorm arose with hail, at which time the ship Vinh Xanh 58 lost signal.

According to Mr. Thuyet, the extreme weather occurred about an hour later. In the sea, it is very difficult to detect a capsized ship in the midst of fog and storms. However, immediately after receiving the report, the rescue ship only took about 10 minutes to reach the place where the ship capsized and promptly rescued the survivors.

Regarding the question of why helicopters were not used for rescue, Mr. Thuyet said: "From the accident site to Tuan Chau is only over 1km, to the mainland 3km, and there is a storm, if we mobilized the aircraft, we would have to ask for many opinions and it would not be reasonable. In fact, after only 10 minutes, a ship came to the rescue. The army is not afraid of any mission; for the people, they did not wait for orders to rescue people, they sent the ship immediately and then informed and reported."

Colonel Hoang Van Thuyet, political commissar of the Quang Ninh Provincial Military Command, informed about the rescue work for victims of the capsized ship - Photo: NAM TRAN

"Try to find the missing person while there is still life"

Regarding the search and rescue work, Vice Chairman of the province Nguyen Van Cong said that 15 minutes after receiving the information, the border guard ship was present at the scene. Due to various reasons, the information arrived late, so the work at the scene was delayed.

Regarding the reason for not using a rescue helicopter, Mr. Cong explained that the distance from the shore to the accident site is only 15-20 minutes. "If we take a helicopter to a place where we cannot land, it will be dangerous in a storm. Using a helicopter also depends on many factors such as weather and parking space, so in this case it is not necessary," Mr. Cong said.

Regarding the 4 victims who have not been found, he informed that on July 20, the province mobilized 269 people and 51 vehicles to continuously search since morning. "It is very painful, we are trying, while there is life, there is hope," said Mr. Cong.

Is there a case to investigate?

At the press conference, a reporter asked: At this point, have the police initiated an investigation into the case?

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 before concluding the cause of the ship capsize. If there is enough 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.

"We are focusing on the rescue work. Last night, the authorities stayed up all night searching for the victims. After the conclusion, we will handle it seriously, in accordance with the law, and handle any violations accordingly," the deputy director of Quang Ninh Provincial Police affirmed.

10 people rescued are in stable health and exempted from all hospital fees.

Mr. Bui Manh Hung, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Department of Health, provided information on treatment for the victims - Photo: NAM TRAN

Mr. Bui Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh Provincial Department of Health, said that immediately after the accident, the health sector took drastic action, sending 12 emergency teams and ambulances to the victim reception points. By the evening of July 19, the health sector had mobilized 31 more ambulances to assist the families in bringing the victims' bodies home.

For the 10 survivors, after being admitted to the hospital, they were promptly cared for and examined. Fortunately, all 10 people only suffered soft tissue injuries, some had head injuries, and are now all stable.

The case of the child (traveling with his parents and deceased sister) was transferred to the National Children's Hospital for care this morning.

Another case is Ms. Thuy Linh who went with her whole family but only she was saved. After receiving medical care, Ms. Linh asked to go home to take care of her relatives' funeral.

Mr. Hung added that all medical examinations and care for victims of the ship capsizing are free.

There will be a mechanism to support orphans.

At the end of the press conference, Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh Province Nguyen Van Cong expressed his condolences to the victims' families. "At 4:30 a.m. on July 20, the ship in distress was towed to its anchorage, demonstrating the determination of Quang Ninh Province and the rescue forces," he said.

He added that the capsize of the Vinh Xanh ship was an unfortunate accident, beyond prediction, and that there was no timely warning of the weather due to the storm. Quang Ninh province has supported the victims according to regulations and called for more help from benefactors.

"Quang Ninh also has a policy for underage victims who are orphans, so that they can contribute to society in the future," Mr. Cong shared.

As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , on the afternoon of July 19, the Green Bay QN 7105 ship, while carrying tourists on route 2 on Ha Long Bay, suddenly capsized near Ti Top Island, Quang Ninh Province.

Immediately after receiving the news, Quang Ninh province mobilized hundreds of people and dozens of vehicles to search and rescue. Based on the initial investigation results, it was determined that there were 3 crew members and 46 passengers on board, all of whom were Vietnamese.

As of noon on June 20, the forces had rescued 10 people, found 35 bodies, and 4 people are still missing. Currently, search and rescue operations and an investigation to clarify the cause of the incident are being conducted in parallel to be handled according to regulations.

After the accident, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a telegram of deep condolences to the relatives and families of the deceased victims; at the same time, he directed Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha to be present at the scene to direct the rescue work.

He also requested the Ministry of National Defense to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and relevant ministries, agencies and localities to focus on finding all measures and mobilizing forces and means operating near the area of the shipwreck to urgently search and rescue as quickly and effectively as possible; promptly visit, encourage and support the families of the victims.

At the same time, investigate and clarify the cause of the incident, strictly handle violations (if any); review and inspect all procedures in ensuring maritime safety, organize lessons learned, and immediately overcome limitations to ensure absolute safety for vehicles and ships in operation...

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vu-lat-tau-o-ha-long-co-tim-nguoi-mat-tich-truoc-toi-nay-se-co-co-che-ho-tro-tre-mo-coi-20250720132901673.htm