Posted on 07/21/2025 4:02:22 AM PDT by texas booster
Boat carrying 48 passengers, including 20 children, tipped over during a sudden thunderstorm.
A tourist boat has capsized in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, killing at least 37 people and leaving five others missing, according to Vietnamese state media.
The Wonder Sea Boat, carrying 48 passengers and five crew, tipped over during a sudden thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon, according to the reports.
More than 20 children were among the passengers.
The official Vietnam News Agency said rescue teams had found 10 survivors by Saturday evening and recovered 37 bodies by Sunday morning.
Four of the victims have yet to be identified.
Rescue teams continued the search through the night and have now brought the salvaged boat to shore, according to VNA.
Most of those on board were Vietnamese families visiting from the capital, Hanoi, the news outlet VNExpress said.
(Excerpt) Read more at aljazeera.com ...
Another rescued child recounted his ordeal to state media.
“I took a deep breath, swam through a gap, dived, then swam up. I even shouted for help, then I was pulled up by a boat with soldiers,” the 10-year-old boy told state-run VietnamNet.
According to the Vietnam Law Magazine, the boat capsized amid a sudden bout of extreme weather that unleashed torrential rain, lightning and fierce winds through northern Vietnam and the Gulf of Tonkin.
“The National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting attributed the extreme weather to a convergence zone sweeping through the region, which, combined with three days of scorching temperatures, created unstable atmospheric conditions ripe for severe storms,” it said.
The centre predicted continued thunderstorms and rainfall across the region due to the approaching Storm Wipha.
The storm entered the South China Sea on Sunday, is gaining strength and is on course to make landfall in Vietnam early next week.
Strong gusts linked to Wipha have knocked down several trees in Hanoi, 175km (110 miles) away from Ha Long Bay, and disrupted air travel in the city.
Noi Bai airport said nine arriving flights were diverted to other airports, and three departing flights were temporarily grounded on Saturday.
Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations, with millions of people visiting its blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands each year.
Last year, 30 vessels sank at boat lock areas in coastal Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay after Typhoon Yagi brought strong winds and waves.
Capsize? Like Guam?
... combined with three days of scorching temperatures, created unstable atmospheric conditions ripe for severe storms
Sounds too much like Texas springs, or the Philippines when I lived there.
Fire on Indonesia ferry kills three, over 500 passengers jump to safety
Having traveled through Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and been on ferries, tour boats - they are usually grossly overloaded with both paasengers and/or cargo. I was on a ferry going beteern islands in Indonesia that was standing room only. It was at least 200% capacity. The seas were rough and a goat puking next next to me. No one batted an eye.
Having spent time in may Third World Crapholes courtesy of my Uncle Sam I learned early on to avoid “Public transportation” and sketchy “Tourist” venues.
Sure, I missed some interesting sights but I’m still here.
Between undersized, overloaded tour boats like this one, and 200 people with diarrhea, and stomach cramps on the cruise ship the other day, I think I’ll stick to boats under my control, they seem to make it back unscathed, every time.
“Fire on Indonesia ferry kills three, over 500 passengers jump to safety”
At some point they’ll stop allowing EVs on ferries worldwide. British Columbia now bans EVs on their boats of they have any damage, which kinda sucks for the woke EV owners who live on one of their many islands. (sorry TG, but the truth must come out)
Dang 🙏🙏🙏
God must have a purpose for this strong survivor. May he hear the call to do good in the world.
I visited Ha Long Bay in February 2020. It’s a beautiful place and the water is normally very calm. Many boats anchor in the bay where people sleep overnight.
It is close to the border with China, and is a popular Chinese tourist destination. When I was there, Vietnam closed the China border due to Covid-19 and the place was deserted.
In the winter, the Chinese go south to Vietnam and Thailand in the same way the New England residents flee to warm Florida.
Nations here and there around the world do not have or reinforce safety regulations. Riding in overloaded boats is just one of many ways to die in those places.
That sounds like fun.
The Doña Paz incident is often cited as the most deadly maritime disaster in peacetime, with an estimated 4,386 fatalities. The ferry, which was carrying thousands of unregistered passengers, collided with the oil tanker Vector, leading to a catastrophic fire and subsequent sinking. Only 24 survivors from the Doña Paz were rescued, highlighting the tragic consequences of overcrowding and poor safety measures. This incident remains a significant and somber chapter in the maritime history of the Philippines.
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