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Twelve dead in Vietnam tourist boat sinking

17 February 2011 21:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Twelve people, most of them foreigners, drowned Thursday when their tour boat suddenly sank while they slept in Halong Bay, one of Vietnam’s top tourist destinations, officials said, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.
Visitors from the United States, Sweden, Russia, Britain, Japan, France and Switzerland were killed, the government said, describing it as a rare accident.
A 32-year-old Australian was among the dead, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported, saying a 36-year-old man also from Australia was rescued.
Another survivor recounted a frantic attempt to escape from below deck as the vessel went down abruptly before dawn in calm weather on the picturesque bay, renowned for its striking limestone towers and emerald waters.
"Oh my God... The ship is sinking. We need to get off!" George Fosmire, a 23-year-old American, remembered his girlfriend warning after the listing ship tipped her out of bed in their cabin.
Fosmire, his voice breaking, said he feared his girlfriend and another young American sharing their cabin did not escape the rushing waters. The United States embassy in Hanoi later confirmed that two of its nationals were killed.
"We are saddened by the loss of life," a spokesman said.
"The whole thing took between 30 seconds and a minute," said Fosmire, who escaped through a window.
"I had to put my face to the ceiling to suck any air," he recalled after he and other survivors were quickly rescued by boats in the area.
Ten foreigners perished along with a Vietnamese tourist and interpreter, while nine tourists and six crew survived, said Vu Van Thin, a local government official in Quang Ninh province.
Officials said part of the boat suddenly broke, but weather was not a factor.
"It is a rare and regrettable incident," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga told reporters.
"The accident was caused by a break in the hull of the boat. Police have begun an inquiry to clearly determine the causes," Nga said.
She said authorities must re-examine safety measures "in order that Halong Bay continues to be a safe and attractive destination for foreign tourists."
Vietnam is seeking to boost its tourism numbers, which totalled five million last year -- far below some of its regional neighbours.
Many of the wooden-hulled Halong Bay tour boats have dining facilities and cabins for tourists to sleep in while the vessels anchor overnight.
Fosmire said he paid $42 for his ticket, making it a budget tour.
Doan Manh Linh, of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Quang Ninh province, which includes Halong Bay, said there would be ramifications for the tourism industry.
"Obviously, this accident has a negative impact on Halong Bay tourism in particular, and on Vietnamese tourism in general," he said.
Boats with foreign tourists were still heading into the bay for daylight tours, an AFP photographer observed.
The sunken vessel had not yet been salvaged.
Halong Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital Hanoi, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.
Its 1,600 islands and islets form a spectacular seascape of mostly uninhabited limestone pillars made famous by the 1992 French movie "Indochine".
In September 2009 three foreign tourists -- two from Britain and one from France -- died along with a local guide when their vessel overturned during heavy rain on the bay.
Official data show that in the first 10 months of last year more than 2.3 million tourists visited Halong Bay, evenly split between local visitors and foreigners, with almost 200,000 boat trips during the period.
Authorities recorded 19 unspecified maritime safety infractions in the bay during the period, according to the figures.

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Twelve dead in Vietnam tourist boat sinking

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