A tourism boat carrying 37 mostly foreign passengers, caught fire on Ha Long Bay on May 6.
The incident happened at around 11 am while the cruiser No. QN 6299 owned by VIT Ha Long Ltd. Co. was set to return to Tuan Chau Port after have finished its journey to take the passengers to visit the bay.
The tourist boat catches fire on Ha Long Bay
The fire quickly spread to the whole boat, forcing many passengers to jump into the water and swim ashore.
Right after that, management board of Tuan Chau Port sent rescue forces to help bring the passengers to the shore. Around an hour later, the fire was controlled, but the boat was totally damaged and then sunk.
According to Quang Ninh Province’s authorities, the boat was transporting 37 passengers; 36 of them foreigners.
The cruiser mostly transports foreigners
Chairman of Quang Ninh Province People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Long urged local authorities to support the affected passengers and investigate the cause of the accident.
This is not the first tourism boat accidents at the world’s heritage bay, which draws flocks of tourists every day.
An injuried passenger
Earlier, a tourist boat transporting 25 passengers, including 17 foreigners, also caught fire on Ha Long Bay in December 25, last year, but all were saved.
In 2014, at least two boats caught fire on the bay and another capsized, but no causalities were reported.
