How were 34 people on a sunken tourist boat in Thien Cam sea rescued?

30 tourists and 4 crew members on the cruise ship quickly put on life jackets and jumped into the sea before the ship sank. They were then promptly rescued by large fishing boats.

Authorities and locals rescue a group of tourists on a sunken cruise ship at sea - Photo: HA

On the afternoon of July 19, a group of 30 tourists, including a child, boarded the Nguyen Ngoc tourist boat owned by Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoang and went to the Thien Cam sea area ( Ha Tinh ) 0.5 nautical miles from shore to fish for squid. In addition to the 30 tourists, there were 4 crew members on the boat.

At around 7:20 p.m., the Thien Cam sea area suddenly had heavy rain accompanied by thunderstorms. Some fishing boats and tourist boats operating nearby did not have time to take shelter.

At 8:00 p.m. the same day, frightened by the strong storm and big waves, some people on the Nguyen Ngoc tourist boat called the shore for help.

Receiving a distress signal from the Nguyen Ngoc tourist ship, Thien Cam Border Guard Station (Ha Tinh Border Guard) urgently deployed rescue plans.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khoi - head of Thien Cam Border Guard Station - said that when the unit received the distress call from the tourists on the boat, the storm was very strong and no boat could approach.

Furthermore, the large capacity ships of the people are all far away from the Nguyen Ngoc ship.

34 people on the cruise ship were rescued safely by rescue forces - Photo: HA

Thien Cam Border Guard Station quickly coordinated with local authorities to mobilize all resources to quickly approach the tourist ship by all means.

"Not only did the Nguyen Ngoc ship send out a distress signal, at this time another fishing boat also sank at sea. Therefore, we sent out maximum forces, on the one hand to check and send out situation signals to large fishing vessels near the area where the Nguyen Ngoc ship was sinking to rescue. On the other hand, we searched for the sunken fishing boat," said Lieutenant Colonel Khoi.

At around 9:30 p.m., the Nguyen Ngoc tourist boat took on water and then started to sink, so 34 passengers and crew members wearing life jackets jumped into the sea to wait for rescue.

After about 30 minutes, the Nguyen Ngoc ship sank completely. Large fishing boats arrived at the scene in time and rescued 34 people in distress.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Khoi, at the time of approaching and bringing 34 people onto the fishing boat, the sea was still rough, so the rescue boats were forced to move to the nearby Boc island area for shelter.

At around 0:30 a.m. on July 20, the victim was brought safely to shore.

"When brought ashore, the people on the cruise ship all showed signs of being cold, some panicked. Authorities quickly approached to ask about their health, and only when they were stable could they leave to rest," Lieutenant Colonel Khoi added.

LE MINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/34-nguoi-tren-tau-du-lich-bi-chim-o-bi-bien-thien-cam-duoc-ung-cuu-nhu-the-nao-20250720182026582.htm