Vietnam Police detains captain after speedboat tragedy that killed 15 Indians in Phu Quoc | World

The police on Sunday detained the captain of a speedboat that capsized off Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam on Saturday, leaving as many as 15 Indian tourists dead. The captain was identified as 57-year-old Nguyen Hong Hai, who was resident of Thuan Tien hamlet in the An Giang province.

According to a report by VnExpress International, Hai was living temporarily in the Phu Quoc Special Zone when he was detained by the police. He was detained as the police wanted to interrogate Hai over alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations. 

The report also stated that the 57-year-old was detained after the investigators conducted a thorough investigation at the site, collecting evidence and recording statements of the eyewitnesses. It also added that stringent action will be taken against whosoever is found guilty under the Vietnamese law.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has also taken cognisance of the incident, while ordering a thorough probe and action against the guilty.

The boat was carrying 36 people, including 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members, when it capsized likely due to high waves in the sea. The authorities managed to rescue 21 of them, including 17 tourists and the four crew members, but 15 people, including two women, lost their lives. Of these 15, ten were from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala.

The government has now made arrangements for the survivors to return to India.

“After obtaining medical treatment, 15 survivors of yesterday’s tragic boat accident have been discharged from hospital and are travelling back to India,” the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the day. “Of the two patients in critical care, one has been discharged and is travelling back to India. The other is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Phu Quoc.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was ‘extremely saddened’ by the incident, while asserting all required assistance will be provided to the survivors. “Extremely saddened to learn about the tragic news of a boat accident involving Indian nationals near Phu Quoc, Vietnam,” he posted on X on Saturday.

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