Speedboat capsizes off southern Vietnam, killing 15 tourists
"They were being submerged by the waves but still waving their hands for help," a witness said.
Updated on: July 13, 2026 / 6:34 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Vietnamese police detained Sunday the captain of a speedboat that capsized off southern Vietnam, killing 15 Indian tourists.
The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members when it overturned less than half a kilometer from shore Saturday afternoon, shortly after leaving Hon May Rut Ngoai island near Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island, authorities said.
The captain, Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, is under investigation for alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations, state media reported.
Sixteen survivors of Saturday's speedboat accident have been discharged from the hospital and are returning to India, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said on social media Sunday. One remains in critical condition in a Vietnamese hospital.
The bodies of the victims were being transported to Ho Chi Minh City before being flown to India after official formalities, according to the embassy.