The death toll has climbed to 34 after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam’s popular Ha Long Bay when an intense storm suddenly swept through.
The Wonder Sea cruise was carrying 48 passengers and five crew — all Vietnamese — when the sky went dark and wind, rain and hail pelted the area around 1.30pm on Saturday (local time).
Rescue boats worked in awful conditions in rough seas to try and pull people from the water into the night.
By Sunday morning (AEDT), 11 people had been rescued alive, including a four-year-old boy who was reportedly trapped for four hours inside the overturned cabin.
Ha Long Cruise Ship Association deputy chief Bui Cong Hoan said rescuers were able to break a window to retrieve the boy.
“Although the ship had overturned and the cabin doors were locked, there was still an air pocket about 50 to 60 centimetres wide, enough for oxygen to get in, so the boy survived,” he told VN Express International.
The victims were reported to be nearly all Vietnamese families from Hanoi, with about 20 children on board.
The storm struck at about 1.30pm while the cruise was touring the usually picturesque bay of emerald waters and rainforest-capped limestone islands, which attracts millions of visitors annually.
The weather deteriorated as Storm Wipha was approaching the country across the South China Sea.
Dozens of rescue craft were deployed and worked into the night to find the stricken vessel and its passengers.
VN Express International reports that rescue teams were divided into divers searching inside the cabin and others scouring the water for victims.
Boat tours are the main attraction in Ha Long Bay, about 200 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, which is one of the most popular sites in Vietnam.
Visitors there have dramatically risen from 1.6 million in 2010 to more than 6.8 million in 2023, according to Ha Long Bay tourism statistics.
Storm Wipha, the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, is projected to make landfall along Vietnam’s northern coast early next week.
Weather linked to the storm also disrupted air travel.
Noi Bai Airport said nine arriving flights were diverted to other airports and three departing flights were temporarily grounded on Saturday.
-with AAP/Reuters
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