Squid fishing boat carrying 30 tourists sank spontaneously

On July 21, speaking with reporters, the leader of Thien Cam Commune Police, Ha Tinh Province said that regarding the incident in which a boat carrying 27 tourists was fishing for squid off the coast of Thien Cam and was sunk by waves on the evening of July 19, Ha Tinh Provincial Police have now stepped in, coordinating with relevant agencies to investigate and clarify the cause of the incident.

On July 20, the ship owner, Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoang, residing in Thien Cam commune (Cam Nhuong commune, old Cam Xuyen district) also went to the police station to report the incident.

Squid fishing boat carrying 27 passengers sank in Thien Cam sea operating spontaneously -0 — Image of rescue forces and fishermen organizing rescue and relief for 30 people on a boat that was sunk by waves in Thien Cam sea.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Vo Ta Nhan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thien Cam commune, confirmed that Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoang taking tourists offshore to fish for squid was a spontaneous activity, with an agreement between the tourists and the boat owner, but before going offshore, the boat owner did not inform or report to the local authorities or functional agencies.

According to Mr. Nhan, it was only when the ship sank that the crew fired flares to signal for help that neighboring fishing boats and the rescue force of Thien Cam Border Guard Station ( Ha Tinh Border Guard) responded in time. Fortunately, all 27 passengers and 3 crew members on board were rescued and brought safely to shore.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoang, the owner of the boat that was sunk by waves off the coast of Thien Cam, also admitted that the activity of organizing squid fishing trips for tourists was completely spontaneous. Tourists who have a need will organize a boat trip to go fishing.

The sunken boat was recently purchased from Viet Trung Investment Cooperation Joint Stock Company (Ha Tinh) for about 1.5 billion VND, but the transfer of ownership has not yet been completed because the company's leaders are in trouble with the law. "Currently, all related documents and procedures have sunk into the sea with the sunken ship," said Mr. Hoang. Before the ship sank, the owner of this ship had organized about 3-4 trips for tourists to go squid fishing.

On the evening of July 19, a group of 27 tourists, including a child about 5 years old, wanted to experience night squid fishing at sea, so they agreed with Mr. Hoang to set sail. The boat departed at 5:00 p.m. in sunny weather with light winds. At around 8:30 p.m. the same day, while the tourists were squid fishing at sea about 600m from shore, a strong wind suddenly blew and a thunderstorm appeared.

The incident happened so quickly and unexpectedly that no one had time to react. Seawater quickly flooded into the ship's hold. The crew only had time to shout loudly, remind everyone to put on life jackets, and then continuously fire flares to call for help.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khoi, Chief of Thien Cam Border Guard Station (Ha Tinh Border Guard), received a distress signal offshore. Despite heavy rain, strong winds and big waves, the unit coordinated with local authorities to carry out rescue work despite the danger.

Due to the darkness and large waves, the Border Guard's canoe could not approach, so all large fishing boats at sea had to be mobilized to coordinate in the rescue.

Mr. Le Van Linh (born in 1984), residing in Thien Cam commune, is one of the most active ship owners participating in the rescue. He recounted that at the time mentioned above, he and 3 other crew members were fishing off the coast of Thien Cam when they suddenly encountered a storm, so they quickly returned to shore to take shelter. At around 10 p.m., when the ship arrived at Boc island, about 0.5 nautical miles from the coast of Thien Cam, they discovered that the tourist boat was in distress, with dozens of tourists sending out distress signals.

Despite facing danger, Mr. Linh did not hesitate, and together with the crew used a basket boat to approach the ship in distress, rescuing and bringing each tourist who was struggling in the middle of the ocean onto Mr. Linh's fishing boat. Mr. Linh does not remember how many people he saved, but remembers that when he was able to get the last tourist off the cruise ship, a large wave hit, causing the ship to capsize and sink into the sea.

Due to the darkness, heavy rain, and large waves, people could not reach the shore and were forced to move to Boc Island for shelter. At around 0:30 on July 21, when the wind calmed down and the rain stopped, all tourists and rescuers were able to reach the shore safely. Currently, the health of the tourists is stable.