Vietnam boat accident: Cops arrest captain, call it 'unavoidable incident'; 15 Indians' bodies to return soon

THE Vietnamese police have apprehended the 57-year-old captain of the speedboat that sank near southern Phu Quoc Island, killing 15 Indian tourists, for alleged "violations of the law". A local media report suggested that the incident could have been averted, as it was caused by "extreme weather conditions".

Several people found drifting at sea were also reportedly not wearing life jackets.

Tuoi Tre reported that "initial assessments by Vietnamese authorities suggest this was an unavoidable incident caused by extreme weather conditions" that shifted rapidly.

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State media quoted sailors involved in the rescue effort as saying that there were high waves but no rain at the time, and that several other tourist boats were operating in the area.

A speedboat bearing registration number AG-26751, carrying 36 people - 32 Indians and four local crew members - overturned near Hon May Rut Ngoai off Phu Quoc Island on Saturday after encountering strong winds.

A swift rescue operation was launched, and all 36 people were recovered. However, only 21 survived, while 15 Indian tourists were declared dead.

Meanwhile, 16 Indian tourists who survived the tragedy have been discharged from hospital and are on their way back home, the Indian mission said on Sunday. One surviving tourist remains in hospital.

Of the 15 victims, 10 were from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh, and two from Kerala. Two of the deceased were women, according to a list shared by the embassy.

According to the list, the deceased from Tamil Nadu were identified as Senthil Kumar Jayavel, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam, Sridhar Sundararajan, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, Balaji Natesan, Vinaya Kumar Chithirapuram Bhaskara, Ravisankar Sugumaran, Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain, Babu Kuppuswamy and Alagurajan Sivasamy.

The deceased from Andhra Pradesh were identified as Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja, Sreedhar Mudiam and Jaya Lakshmi Gelli, while those from Kerala were identified as Avicot Cheriyan Thomas and Loveni Thomas.

The mortal remains of those killed have been sent to Ho Chi Minh City, from where they will be transported to India soon, the Indian mission added.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung conveyed his condolences to the families of those killed and instructed ministries, state agencies and local authorities to mobilise all available medical personnel, medicines and emergency resources to support the response efforts, local media outlet Tuoi Tre News reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the deaths of the 15 Indians in the Vietnam boat tragedy, stating: “Extremely saddened to learn about the tragic news of a boat accident involving Indian nationals near Phu Quoc, Vietnam. My sincere condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. My prayers for the early recovery of the injured survivors.”