1st LD Writethru: 3 people killed after tourist boat capsizes in central Vietnam

Bodies of three people who went missing after a tourist boat capsized in Han River in Vietnam's central Da Nang city Saturday night, were recovered on Sunday.

Local authorities said after recovering bodies of the victims, the search and rescue mission ended, reported the official online newspaper of Da Nang.

Specifically, the body of a middle-aged man was found around 8 km from where the boat capsized. Meanwhile, bodies of other two victims, who are children and siblings in a family, were found 800 meters to 1,000 meters away from the shipwreck location.

Da Nang Municipal People's Committee confirmed at press briefing on Sunday that there were 56 people on board the boat when the accident happened.

As many as 53 people have been rescued.

Four among the tourists on board are Malaysians, while the rest are Vietnamese, according to the committee.

Preliminary investigation showed that the boat was overloaded.

The committee has suspended all activities of tourist boats in Han River for safety review.

The committee also requested relevant agencies to tighten departure procedures before resuming these activities.

Speaking near the search and rescue site, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said "the incident is very serious, which causes severe consequences."

"Authorities from central to local levels should learn from the experience. The boat was equipped with 28 seats but carried 56 people. The case needs to be prosecuted and brought to trial seriously for deterrence," local VNExpress online newspaper quoted Phuc as saying.

Da Nang is a famous tourist destination in Vietnam, locating 600 km south of the capital Hanoi. Endit