Vietnam tourist boat accident: Hunt on for missing as death toll climbs to 35

Halong Bay/Hanoi: Dozens of rescuers were scrambling in Vietnam on Sunday to trace four missing people after retrieving the bodies of dozens killed when a thunderstorm capsized a boat in the top tourist destination of Halong Bay, authorities said.

Despite a calm sea, rescuers, from police and border guards to divers and navy personnel, were battling limited visibility hours before the expected landfall in northern Vietnam of Typhoon Wipha, which is now approaching Hong Kong.

The government said rescuers had managed to retrieve the sunken boat and revised down the death toll to 35 from an initial 38 on Saturday, while cutting an estimate of those aboard to 49 from 53, though officials fear the toll could still rise.

All the tourists aboard were Vietnamese, including several children, the official Vietnam News Agency said.

"My brother can swim, but I was told everything happened too fast," Tran Trung Tu, 39, whose sibling was 32, told Reuters at a funeral parlour on Sunday.

The accident was one of the worst in recent years in the UNESCO-protected archipelago of thousands of limestone islands about 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Hanoi, which draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.

The sudden thunderstorm turned the sky dark in a matter of minutes, felling trees in the capital of Hanoi, where officials at the Noi Bai international airport said nine flights were diverted and three departures temporarily halted.

"It is the first time I have experienced an accident with so many casualties here," said insurance agent Do Thi Thuy.

A tour boat sank in Halong Bay in 2011, killing 12, with some foreign tourists among them.

The government said the accident was caused by a "sudden" storm. Strong winds, heavy rain and lightning were reported around the time of the event, at 2 pm on Saturday.

"I was told life vests were available, but it was too sudden," said Do Van Hai, 42, a Halong resident. "Hopefully, the missing ones will be found soon."