HANOI/DINDIGUL: Ten tourists from Tamil Nadu are among 15 Indians who drowned after their boat capsized about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai, an island in the An Thoi archipelago off the coast of Phu Quoc in Vietnam on Saturday (July 11).
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay said the State government has deputed Salem DIG Santosh Hadimani to travel to Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate the repatriation of the bodies.
Among the dead are two from Kerala and three from Andhra Pradesh. According to Vietnamese media reports, the speedboat was carrying 32 tourists from India and four crew members. An Indian national who witnessed the tragedy said the boat had barely travelled 300-400 metres from the shore when it suddenly overturned.
A 43-year-old father of two from Palani, Murugaprabu, is among the dead. Murugaprabu, a mobile phone trader, was on an incentive trip organised by a private mobile phone company for him, his business partner Nirmalkumar (41), and other dealers from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in recognition of their sales performance.
His family members said Murugaprabu had shared photographs from the trip on WhatsApp just hours before the accident and had told relatives that he would return to Palani on Monday.
The group was on its way to Phu Quoc Island around 11 am when strong winds reportedly toppled the boat. At least four of the dead are from the group.
Nirmal Kumar who survived the accident said the speedboat overturned within seconds, reportedly due to high waves and possible overloading.
Deceased Alagurajan Sivasamy’s uncle told reporters in Tiruchy that Alagurajan had left for Vietnam on Wednesday morning. He was reportedly part of the group sponsored by the mobile phone company. The tragedy claimed two others from Tiruchy.
Earlier, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said control rooms were set up at the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City and at the Embassy in Hanoi to provide information and assistance. The first control room can be reached at: +84 36 281 7930, +84 91 552 37 14 and +84 33 452 0414. The other one in Hanoi can be reached at: +84 91 308 9165.