At least 37 people have been confirmed dead and several remain missing after a tourist boat capsized during a violent storm in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay on Saturday afternoon.
The vessel, named Wonder Seas, was carrying 53 passengers—mainly Vietnamese families from Hanoi—when it was struck by a sudden storm bringing torrential rain, hail, thunder, and lightning, according to Vietnam’s Border Guards and Navy.
Eyewitnesses described the storm’s abrupt arrival around 2:00 p.m. local time. “The sky suddenly turned black, and hailstones as big as toes began falling,” one survivor told AFP. Moments later, powerful winds overturned the boat in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed bay in Quang Ninh province.
Despite severe weather hampering rescue efforts, emergency teams managed to pull 11 survivors from the water. Among them was a 10-year-old boy who survived by clinging to an air pocket inside the capsized vessel.
“I took a deep breath, dived, then swam up,” the boy told VietnamNet. “I shouted for help, and then a boat rescued me.” He had been traveling with his parents, whose fate remains unknown.
Local news outlet VNExpress reported that at least eight of the victims were children. Search and rescue operations are ongoing through the night as many passengers are still unaccounted for.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed condolences to the families of the victims and has ordered a full investigation into the incident. In a government statement, authorities vowed to “strictly handle any violations” and determine the cause of the tragedy.
Ha Long Bay, famed for its limestone karsts and emerald waters, drew around four million visitors in 2019 and remains one of Vietnam’s top tourist destinations. The deadly incident has cast a shadow over the popular site, raising concerns about safety measures amid unpredictable weather conditions.
