At least 34 people are dead after a sudden thunderstorm caused a tourist boat to capsize in Vietnam on Saturday, according to local reports.
The vessel, named Wonder Seas, was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members during a sightseeing excursion of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to reports cited by The Associated Press.
Rescue workers saved 11 people and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Search teams are frantically looking for the missing victims of the disaster.
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Video footage shows two exasperated survivors being rescued on a smaller boat as choppy waters rock the vessel from side to side, illustrating the rough conditions at sea.
Footage also shows several people standing on the hull of the capsized Wonder Sea boat waiting to be rescued.
The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.
“Even though the ship overturned and the passenger compartment was locked, there was still a gap of about 50-60 cm [20 to 24 inches], enough for oxygen to enter so the baby was still alive,” Bui Cong Hoan, deputy branch of the Ha Long Cruise Ship Association, told VNExpress.
“Rescuers then broke the window and put the victim in a rescue boat.”
Hospital director Le Ngoc Dung said that a 10-year-old boy was also among those saved and is currently in a stable condition at Bai Chay Hospital, according to the outlet.
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A group of 15 divers went into the sea to search for victims and survivors.
An eyewitness told AFP news agency that the sky darkened around 2 p.m. local time on Saturday.
There were “hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning”, he said, per the BBC.
It does not appear that any Americans were on board. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for clarification,
Ha Long Bay is located in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam and is one of the country’s most iconic natural landmarks, featuring more than 1,600 limestone islands and islets. “Ha Long,” means “Descending Dragon,” and local folklore says the islands were formed by a dragon’s tail crashing into the sea.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
