Vietnam Detains Captain After Phu Quoc Boat Capsizes, Killing 15 Indian Tourists
Updated
Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 12
Vietnam Detains Captain After Phu Quoc Boat Capsizes, Killing 15 Indian Tourists
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 12
Summary
Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, was detained Sunday after police opened a criminal probe into alleged waterway safety violations in the Phu Quoc tourist-boat capsizing that killed 15 people.
The speedboat overturned around 1 p.m. Saturday while carrying 36 people from Hon May Rut Island to An Thoi Port, with rough seas and large waves reported in the area.
Nearby boats reached the scene before emergency crews, but many passengers were trapped inside; 16 survivors have been discharged, while one remains hospitalized in Phu Quoc.
The victims were all Indian nationals, and India’s embassy said arrangements are underway to return both survivors and bodies as officials continue search and rescue work.
The accident hits a fast-growing tourism corridor for Vietnam, which welcomed nearly 750,000 Indian visitors in 2025, and follows another deadly tourist-boat capsizing in Ha Long Bay last July that killed 39.