Cruise ship sinks on Thien Cam sea

A tourist boat carrying 34 people on a squid fishing trip was sunk by a storm in Thien Cam, Ha Tinh. All passengers and crew were rescued more than 10 minutes after the accident.

Authorities brought some victims safely to shore, early morning of July 20.

On the evening of July 19, the Nguyen Ngoc tourist boat carrying 30 passengers and 4 crew members went squid fishing at Boc Island, about 0.5 nautical miles (nearly 1 km) off the coast of Thien Cam, when it encountered a storm with heavy rain. At about 7:20 p.m., strong waves sank the boat, forcing everyone on board to jump into the sea to escape. Before sinking, the boat sent a distress signal to the nearest rescue station.

Upon receiving the news, Thien Cam Border Guard Station coordinated with local authorities to dispatch two rescue ships and mobilize nearby fishing boats to approach the scene. After about 10 minutes, all 34 people were rescued safely onto the boat.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Khoi, Head of Thien Cam Border Guard Station, said that due to big waves and strong winds, the authorities could not immediately bring the victims to shore and had to anchor in place for shelter. By 0:30 on July 20, the rescue boats were able to bring all the victims ashore in stable health.

Nguyen Ngoc tourist boat is made of wood with a maximum capacity of 40 people, usually taking passengers from Thien Cam beach 1-3 km offshore to experience night squid fishing.

At the same time, many communes in Ha Tinh experienced storms and heavy rain, which blew off the roofs of many houses and buildings. The sea recorded high waves and strong winds. In Co Dam commune, 6 small fishing boats anchored near the shore were overturned by waves. By the morning of July 20, authorities had towed the boats to shore. As for fisherman Hoang Van Minh, 57 years old, who went fishing alone, he has not been contacted yet, and the authorities are organizing a search.

According to the Ha Tinh Hydrometeorological Station, due to the influence of storm Wipha, from July 21, the sea area of Ha Tinh will have winds gradually increasing to level 6-7, gusting to level 8-9, waves 2-4 m high. On land, from tomorrow afternoon to July 23, the storm's western and southwestern circulation will cause widespread rain. The southern area of Ha Tinh will have common rainfall of 50-100 mm, the northern area 100-200 mm, some places over 250 mm.

Also on July 19, the tourist boat Blue Bay 58 carrying 53 people was overturned by strong winds in Ha Long Bay, nearly 3 nautical miles from shore. In the early morning of July 20, authorities found three more bodies, bringing the total number of fatalities to 38, 10 people were rescued, and 5 people are missing.

Vnexpress

Source: https://baohaiphongplus.vn/tau-du-lich-chim-tren-bien-thien-cam-416800.html