International tourists have reportedly died after a tour boat sank in Vietnam’s Halong Bay, police say.
Reuters quoted Ngo Van Hung, director of the Halong Bay Management Department, saying, "so far the rescue team has rescued 15 people, including nine foreign tourists and six crew, and pulled out 12 bodies".
He said 27 people comprising 20 foreigners – from Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and the US – six crew members and one tour guide were on the boat.
A police investigator told The Associated Press the boat went down about 5am local time near Titov island.
”We recovered the bodies of five foreign tourists and a
Vietnamese tourist," said Vu Van Thin, a senior government official with the Quang Ninh province People’s Committee.
Local Vietnamese media named the boat as Truong Hai QN5198 and reported that it was cruising overnight in Halong Bay before experiencing engine problems and sinking.
