At least eight dead as Vietnam tourist boat sinks

HANOI - Eight foreign tourists were killed and five were still missing when a tourist boat sank Thursday in Vietnam, officials said.

The accidents occurred at 5 a.m. (2200 GMT Wednesday) at Ha Long bay when a boat carrying 22 people, including 21 foreign tourists, sank, said Ngo Van Hung, head of the management board of Ha Long bay.

Rescuers said they recovered eight bodies. Nine foreign tourists were rescued, and authorities were searching for the five missing.

Do Thong, an official of Quang Ninh province’s government, said the tourists came from 11 countries, including Denmark, the US, Britain, Russia, and Switzerland.

Hung said most of the tourists drowned while they were sleeping inside the boat, others escaped death because they were staying on deck. The weather had been calm and the visitors were staying overnight on the boat in Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist spot about 170 kilometres from Hanoi.