On Saturday, a tragic tourist boat accident unfolded off the coast of southern Vietnam, leaving 15 Indian visitors dead after the vessel overturned mid-return from a day trip to a local island, Vietnamese state media has confirmed. The incident occurred approximately 400 meters, or 1310 feet, from Hon May Rut Ngoai Island, a small scenic outpost just off Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island located in the Gulf of Thailand. At the time of the capsizing, the speedboat was carrying a total of 36 people: 32 Indian tourists and 4 local crew members.
Eyewitness accounts shared with Vietnamese news outlet VN Express detail an immediate emergency response: private vessels operating nearby were the first to reach the overturned boat, pulling struggling passengers from the choppy water before official rescue teams arrived. First responders, including border guard units, the Vietnamese navy, and coast guard personnel, joined the large-scale rescue operation, but recovery efforts faced significant challenges. Many passengers were trapped inside the overturned hull of the speedboat, slowing access and extraction, local media reported.
By the conclusion of initial rescue operations, 21 people had been pulled from the water alive, and all 15 deceased victims had been recovered. Injured survivors were quickly transported to local hospitals for urgent medical care. Broadcast footage from Vietnamese television captured the dangerous conditions that contributed to the incident, showing rough, choppy seas and strong winds buffeting the rescue site. Footage also shows rescue teams tossing life buoys to stranded swimmers, jet skis ferrying survivors back to the mainland, and bystanders and emergency workers administering immediate first aid to victims on the beach before transport to care facilities.
In the wake of the tragedy, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has issued official directives ordering a full investigation into the root cause of the accident, and instructed relevant authorities to hold any parties found responsible legally accountable. He also called for immediate safety reviews of maritime and waterway regulations across the accident site and all similar high-traffic tourist areas across the country to prevent future incidents.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a public statement confirming the identity of the tourists, noting that all those on board were employees of a private Indian mobile phone company traveling for an annual corporate retreat. Modi also shared on social media that personnel from the Indian Embassy in Vietnam were already on site coordinating with local authorities to support survivors and repatriation efforts for the deceased.
Phu Quoc and its surrounding outlying islands, including the Hon May Rut archipelago, are among Vietnam’s most popular coastal tourist destinations. Located roughly 10 kilometers, or 6 miles, south of main Phu Quoc Island, the Hon May Rut islands draw millions of domestic and international travelers each year, famous for their powdery white sand beaches and crystal-clear tropical waters. As of Saturday evening, official authorities had not released a confirmed cause for the capsizing, with the full investigation still ongoing.