>> Tourist boat’s hull “suddenly broke”, killing 12 in Ha Long Bay
>> List of passengers on board in the Halong Bay accident
Tourists from Australia, Britain and the US are among a dozen people killed in a boat accident in Vietnam\'s Ha Long Bay, officials say.
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| Scene of the accident. Photo: DTiNews |
The ship went down at 5am on Thursday (0900 AEDT) near Titov island, said Vu Van Bot, a police investigator in Quang Ninh province.
Twelve bodies had been found, including those of tourists from Australia, the US and Britain, said Ngo Van Hung, director of Ha Long Bay\'s management board.
The exact number of Australians killed was not known. "We have determined that 12 people died including 10 foreigners and two Vietnamese," said Vu Van Thin, chief administrator of Quang Ninh province.
Other officials said 11 foreigners had died. There were conflicting reports on the total number of people on the boat.
Thin said there were 27 people on the boat, including six crew members. "Crew members tried to stop the water from coming in and alerted the tourists who were sleeping, but the water came in and the boat sank quickly," he said.
"All of the 12 people who died were in the cabins." He said the boat was anchored alongside dozens of other cruise boats, and weather conditions were calm at the time of the incident.
Doan Manh Linh, assistant director at Quang Ninh\'s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the boat was carrying a total of 19 foreign visitors and two Vietnamese.
The Swedish government said two Swedish women in their early 20s were killed, while Japan\'s Kyodo news agency reported that one Japanese was among the dead.
The body of a Vietnamese tour guide had been recovered, and all of the dead had been sent to Bai Chay Hospital for identification.
Giang Quoc Duy, deputy director of the hospital, said three foreign tourists, including men from the US and France and a woman from Switzerland, were admitted to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
"They were in a panic," Duy said. "They were given first aid treatment and have already returned to their hotels."
Online newspaper Dan Tri quoted Do Thong, provincial vice governor, as saying the tourists on board were from 11 countries, including the US, Britain, France, Russia, Denmark and Sweden.
Australia\'s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of the reports.
"Australian government officials in Hanoi are keeping in close contact with their Vietnamese counterparts to confirm as a matter of priority whether any Australians were involved," a DFAT spokesperson told AAP.
Bot said police were contacting local weather forecasters to determine whether the seas were rough at the time of the incident.
Thin said the accident happened when "part of the boat suddenly broke" but bad weather was not to blame. Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its striking limestone formations, is one of Vietnam\'s most popular tourism attractions.
It is located near the Chinese border in the Gulf of Tonkin, about three hours east of the capital, Hanoi.
Many visitors opt to stay overnight on boats with sleeping cabins to cruise the picturesque bay. In 2009, a tour boat sank during a storm on the bay, killing five, including three foreign tourists.
In 2006, a powerful wind storm on the bay capsized several boats, killing 13 people, though no tourists were among the dead. In 2002, strong winds capsized two tourist boats, killing several foreigners.
