Chinese tourist among two dead as speedboat capsizes in central Vietnam

By Xuan Ngoc   December 26, 2018 | 09:12 pm PT
Chinese tourist among two dead as speedboat capsizes in central Vietnam
A tourist boat capsizes in Nha Trang, throwing its passengers into the sea. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuoc
A Chinese tourist and a Vietnamese tour guide were killed when their speedboat capsized off the central tourist town of Nha Trang Wednesday.

The boat was reportedly carrying over 20 people, mostly Chinese tourists, on a tour around Nha Trang Bay when it capsized near Tri Nguyen fishing village, throwing its occupants into the water.

Many nearby boats quickly came to their rescue and managed to pull most of the passengers to safety. However, the two were unfortunately found dead, while a young boy is in critical condition.

One rescued passenger said: "The boat suddenly shook violently before overturning. Everything happened very quickly so no one was able to react."

According to Nguyen Van Dan, director of the Khanh Hoa Department of Transport, the capsized vessel belongs to a tourism transport company.

"The speedboat did not collide with anything else, was carrying the permitted number of passengers and its registration was still valid," he said, adding that all passengers were wearing life jackets.

Khanh Hoa authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

Nha Trang is a popular beach destination among both local and foreign tourists, and helped draw 2.2 million foreign visitors to Khanh Hoa Province in the first nine months of this year.

Its namesake bay, with 19 islands, is also a popular tourism attraction thanks to its coral reefs, mangrove forests and seagrass beds.

 
 
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