>> Divers recover boy’s body from sunken boat
>> 15 bodies found in ship accident
>> River cruise ship capsizes, 16 missing
Investigations into the sinking of the Din Ky pleasure boat, which capsized on the Saigon River in the southern province of Binh Duong on May 20, leaving 16 dead, including four Chinese tourists, have revealed serious mismanagement in the boat’s operation.
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| Din Ky pleasure boat |
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| Divers going in the water to search for bodies |
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| Phan Thi Hien was crying when her nine-year old son\'s body was carried home on May 23 (photo by Tuoi Tre) |
Untrained staff
According to inspection agencies, Le Van Duc, 28, who was piloting the Din Ky boat on May 20, was a novice and had not been licensed to operate a boat.
On the day of accident, ship manager Lao Van Quang assigned Duc to pilot the vessel, as the boat’s official captain had ended his working shift. Despite an approaching storm, the river cruise began.
Chau Hoan Tam, the owner of Din Ky Restaurant Private Enterprise, himself admitted that his firm had operated unofficial boat trips, and Din Ky boat operation license had expired on January 28, 2011. “I had authorised the chief manager of the vessel to re-register the vessel, but he forgot to do it,” Tam said.
The double-deck boat’s hull was too shallow to cope with the number of people on board and rescue teams had detected a 10cm by seven-metre hole running along the length of the ship’s hull after the boat had capsized.
Rescuers said the hole had been caused by a collision, however, crew who regularly used the ship said the hole would often appear during heavy rain. It is believed that the crack in the hull meant that water quickly entered the vessel, resulting in its rapid sinking.
Late last year the Ho Chi Minh City waterway inspection force punished Din Ky for its unsafe operations.
This morning (May 25), representatives from the ministries of police and transport continued to examine the boat to determine the cause of the accident.
Following the tragedy, Binh Duong Province’s Department of Transport established an inter-disciplinary inspection force to monitor boats and quays operating along the Saigon River.
Too late to say sorry
Chau Hoan Tam, the owner of Din Ky Restaurant Private Enterprise, admitted to operating the tour-boat quay without a license, failing to register the boat after its registration had expired, and using an unlicensed pilot at the time of the accident.
He said, “In addition to paying VND10 million (US$480) to each victim’s family, we’ve provided VND680 million (US$33,000) to go towards the costs of their funerals of nine victims in the northern province of Ha Tinh and three others in Binh Duong. We’ve also paid US$32,000 towards returning the bodies of the four Chinese tourists to China.”
The police have detained pilot Le Van Duc, ship manager Lao Van Quang and Din Ky Restaurant manager Dinh Van Quan for further investigations.
The victims were attending the birthday party of a three year-old boy, Quach Hong Dat, son of Quach Luong Tai, Director of the Binh Duong-based Lan Anh Company. Tai was the only family member that escaped the accident. He lost his wife Tran Thi Tuong, his son Dat, and his six year-old daughter Quach Lan Anh.
After great efforts, divers found the body of the sixteenth victim, a nine-year old boy on May 23.
