A tragic boat accident off the coast of Vietnam near Phu Quoc Island resulted in the deaths of approximately 15 Indian tourists out of 36 people on board a capsized speedboat due to rough seas, with 21 survivors rescued by other vessels and authorities. The victims, primarily from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, were on a trip organized by Lava Mobile, a mobile phone retail company, and survivors recounted being thrown into the water unexpectedly by a large wave. The Indian embassy in Hanoi has established control rooms for information and assistance, while the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has pledged to facilitate the repatriation of the deceased.

A tragic boat accident off the coast of Vietnam near Phu Quoc Island resulted in the deaths of approximately 15 Indian tourists out of 36 people on board a capsized speedboat due to rough seas, with 21 survivors rescued by other vessels and authorities. The victims, primarily from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, were on a trip organized by Lava Mobile, a mobile phone retail company, and survivors recounted being thrown into the water unexpectedly by a large wave. The Indian embassy in Hanoi has established control rooms for information and assistance, while the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has pledged to facilitate the repatriation of the deceased.

A tragic boat accident off the coast of Vietnam near Phu Quoc Island resulted in the deaths of approximately 15 Indian tourists out of 36 people on board a capsized speedboat due to rough seas, with 21 survivors rescued by other vessels and authorities. The victims, primarily from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, were on a trip organized by Lava Mobile, a mobile phone retail company, and survivors recounted being thrown into the water unexpectedly by a large wave. The Indian embassy in Hanoi has established control rooms for information and assistance, while the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has pledged to facilitate the repatriation of the deceased.

A boat that carried 36 persons on board capsized in the waters near Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam on Saturday, killing 15 Indian tourists.

The speedboat, which was carrying 32 Indian tourists and 4 staff, reportedly lost control due to rough sea conditions and capsized about 400 meters while travelling from Hon May Rut Ngoai to An Thoi port. 

Other tourist boats in the area, along with the coastguard and navy, rushed to the scene to rescue the passengers.

21 people survived the incident.

Out of the 15 killed, 10 hailed from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh, and two were from Kerala.

The tourist trip was organised by Lava Mobile, a company that runs stores selling mobile phones.

The TN government also released the names of the deceased persons: 1.J. Senthilkumar, 2. A. Muruga Prabhu, 3. S. Sridhar, 4. A. Sheikh Abdullah, 5. N. Balaji, 6. C. Vinaya Kumar, 7. S. Ravi Shankar, 8. S. Santosh Kumar, 9. K. Babu, 10. S. Azhagurajan.

Three of the deceased, R. Nallabetta Adiseshaiah, M. Sridhar, and G. Jayalaxmi, were from Andhra Pradesh, and A.C. Thomas and Loveni Thomas from Kerala, died in the boat accident.

One of the survivors, Nirmal Kumar, told Dinamani, "While the boat was sailing in the sea, a huge wave hit the boat. As a result, the boat quickly capsized, and 20 people were thrown into the sea. The rest of us were inside the boat. The rescue team rescued us."

"We were all taking pictures as soon as we got on the boat, when suddenly the boat capsized, and many people were thrown into the sea. Before we realised what was happening, everything had happened."

"Rescue workers arrived immediately, but there were no medical teams on shore", he said.

He said that those at the front of the boat came out through the exit and the windows while the 15 people at the back were trapped inside.
"It was a tour organised by our company for those who had done the feat, and everyone was wearing life jackets. Since it was a closed boat, the boat unexpectedly capsized as it swayed in the wind. So there was nothing we could do."

He said that 20 of the passengers were from Tamil Nadu and that his friend from his hometown died in the accident. “My friend Muruga Prabhu and I went from Palani. Muruga Prabha has passed away.

The passengers on the boat were from Salem, Dharmapuri, and Chennai areas”

“I request that the central and state governments quickly transport the bodies of the deceased to their hometowns,” he added.

The Indian embassy in Hanoi announced that the central government has set up control rooms in the city for information related to the accident."Control rooms have been set up at the Indian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and the Indian Embassy in Hanoi to facilitate information and assistance regarding the boat accident. These control rooms can be contacted on the following numbers: +84362817930, +84915523714, +84334520414, +84913089165," the statement read.

Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said that steps were taken to the bring the bodies of the victims back to Tamil Nadu. The CM issued a statement expressing his condolences over the deaths of the tourists from Tamil Nadu and other states.

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