A tourist boat in Vietnam capsized during a sudden thunderstorm on Saturday, leaving 35 people dead, while four remain missing, according to state media.
Ten people survived, including one 10-year-old boy who hid in an air pocket after the ship turned over, local media said.
“Everything happened so fast,” the boy, who was traveling with his parents, told VietnamNet. “I tried to get out, and then the soldiers rescued me.”
State media reported that all 49 people aboard the tourist boat were Vietnamese, including 46 passengers and three crew members.
The ship, built in 2015, was on a sightseeing tour of Sung Sot Cave and Titop Island, two popular destinations in Ha Long Bay, known for their scenic views.
“It’s the worst accident I’ve known in Ha Long Bay in the last 25 years,” Bui Cong Hoan, deputy chairman of Ha Long Tourist Boat Association, told The New York Times in a phone interview.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his condolences to the victims’ families, and he ordered the ministries of National Defense and Public Security, as well as civil defense workers, to support the search and rescue operations.
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