Briton among victims as holiday boat sinks

Twelve people, including at least one British tourist died when an anchored boat packed with sleeping travellers sank in Vietnam’s scenic Ha Long Bay.

It was the deadliest tour boat accident since the country opened to foreign visitors 25 years ago.

The official Vietnam News Agency named the UK victim as Stuart McCormick, who died with 10 other holidaymakers from around the world and a local guide.

Another nine foreigners and six local people were rescued.

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Ha Long Bay is one of the country’s top tourist attractions, drawing more than five million visitors a year to see the stunning jagged rock formations that dot the coastline. Many visitors stay overnight on wooden boats equipped with sleeping cabins.

Survivors reported seeing a wooden plank on their boat ripping away at around 5am as the vessel was anchored for the night, followed by gushing water inundating it and quickly pulling it under near Titov island, said Vu Van Thin, chief administrator of Quang Ninh province.

“Crew members tried to stop the water from coming in and alerted the tourists who were sleeping but the water came in and the boat sank quickly,” he said. “All of the 12 people who died were in the cabins.”

There were 27 people, including six crew members, aboard the boat and all have been accounted for, Thin said.

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The vessel, which is owned by Truong Hai Co, was anchored alongside dozens of other cruise boats and weather conditions were calm at the time. A criminal investigation is underway.

The survivors jumped into the water, where they were rescued by other tour boats. Stefano Corda, 35, of Palermo, Italy, who fled with a friend after feeling the boat lurch, said: “The boat took one minute to sink.”

“We went to the exit, and the boat was almost vertical,” Corda said. “I grabbed my friend, we went out and it was so fast.”

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that one British national had died.