Today's Edition
HALONG BAY (AFP)
Rescuers searched desperately Sunday for five people still missing after at least 38 were killed when a boat capsized at one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations.
The tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam's famed Ha Long Bay was lashed by a sudden storm Saturday in one of the deadliest disasters at the UNESCO World Heritage site.
The vessel "Wonder Sea" was carrying 48 passengers and five crew when it capsized because of sudden heavy rain, the VNExpress news site said.
Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it said.
Border guards had rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies by Saturday evening, it added.
Overnight, the bodies of three crew members were found in the cabin, and rescue efforts continued into Sunday morning to find the five people still missing.
One of the rescued died in hospital on Sunday, bringing the toll to 38, VNExpress said.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his condolences on Saturday to relatives of those killed and called on the defence and public security ministries to conduct urgent search and rescue.
Authorities would "investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and strictly handle violations", a government statement said.
Torrential rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday. Several trees were knocked down in the capital by strong winds.
The storm followed three days of intense heat, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, was quoted in VNExpress as saying that the thunderstorms in northern Vietnam were not caused by the influence of Tropical Storm Wipha in the South China Sea. Wipha entered the South China Sea on Sunday gaining strength, and is on course to make landfall in Vietnam early next week.
Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of people visiting its blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands each year.
