KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 15 Indian tourists have been killed after a speedboat carrying them capsized near Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam, according to media reports on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday when the boat, carrying 32 Indian tourists and four crew members, overturned during a return trip from the popular tourist island of Hon May Rut Ngoai to An Thoi International Port, Al Jazeera reported.
Twenty-one people were rescued, while those injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. The cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
Local media reported that the vessel capsized about 400 metres from the shore while approaching the port.
The Indian Embassy in Hanoi said Vietnamese authorities were continuing rescue operations and that emergency assistance centres had been established in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to coordinate support for victims and their families.
“Exact details of the incident are being ascertained,” the embassy said in a statement.
The accident comes months after another major maritime tragedy in Vietnam. In July last year, the tourist boat Wonder Sea capsized in Ha Long Bay during a thunderstorm, killing 39 people in one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters.
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