A tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam’s world famous Ha Long Bay capsized in a storm on Saturday afternoon, leaving at least 34 people dead, according to state media reports, as rescuers scrambled to locate the missing.
The vessel was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members when it capsized in the UNESCO World Heritage site because of sudden heavy rain, the VNExpress news site said.
Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it said.
“Border guards rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies,” it added.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson confirmed there were no Australians on board.
But one 10-year-old reportedly survived the deadly accident in the most unlikely circumstances.
According to local outlet VietnamNet, the unnamed boy survived the sinking of the tourist boat by sheltering in an air pocket of the overturned vessel.
The boy had been travelling with his family in Vietnam’s famed Ha Long Bay. According to the report, the boy was trapped in the boat but found refuge in an underwater air pocket, where he stayed and waited for help.
It is understood he was eventually found by rescue teams and was relatively unharmed, before being warmed up and transferred to a nearby hospital,
