Ferry slams into tourist boat carrying 42 foreigners in Mekong Delta river

By Ngoc Tai, Dinh Van   April 19, 2024 | 03:50 pm PT
Two foreign tourists and a Vietnamese tour guide were injured after a ferry broadsided a boat carrying 42 passengers on the Tien River in the Mekong Delta Friday evening.

The Hang Chau Tourist Express Boat vessel was coming from Phnom Penh in Cambodia when, at around 6 p.m, the collision occurred in Vinh Xuong Commune in An Giang Province’s Chau Doc City around a kilometer from the border.

The ferry rammed into the middle of the boat’s starboard/port side, causing a large part of the vessel to break off and many standing tourists to fall down.

A tourist boat collides with a ferryboat in An Giang Province, April 19, 2024. Video provided by a local resident

The tour guide, 36, had his right arm cut off by a piece of metal and both legs broken.

Two men from Germany and France, aged 57 and 67, had their left legs broken.

All three were rushed to a local hospital.

A tourist boat after being hit by a ferry boat in An Giang Province, April 19, 2024. Photo by Tran Thanh

A tourist boat that was broadsided by a ferry in An Giang Province on April 19, 2024. Photo by Tran Thanh

Que Chi, a ferry passenger, said the tourist boat had been traveling at a high speed before the collision. The captain had tried to slow down after noticing the approaching ferry, but was too late, he said.

Many passengers panicked after the collision and some burst into tears, he added.

Locals helped the captain remove the passengers out of the tourist boat, fearing the vessel could sink.

A person injured from the boat collision is rushed to hospital. Photo provided by a local resident

A person injured in the collision is rushed to hospital. Photo provided by a local resident

Bui Thai Hoang, a commune official, said the two foreign tourists were stable by Friday night after receiving emergency treatment.

The tour guide's condition is more serious and he has been transfered to a bigger hospital.

Hoang said the boat has been licensed for operating for more than 10 years and was running its registered route on Friday evening.

A foreign tourist is injured after the yatch collision. Photo provided by a local resident

A foreign tourist injured in the boat collision. Photo providedby a local resident

According the boat operator's website, its vessels carry tourists every day, leaving Chau Doc for Phnom Penh at 7:30 a.m. and returning at 12:30 p.m. Each trip takes about 5 hours.

Most of its passengers are foreigners.

 
 
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