HANOI, Vietnam — A tour boat sank early today in Vietnam’s scenic Ha Long Bay, killing 11 foreign visitors and a guide, officials said.
Twenty-one foreign tourists were aboard when the boat went down about 5 a.m. near Titov island, said a police investigator in Quang Ninh province. The total number of people on the boat was not immediately known.
Tourists from the U.S., Australia and Britain were among the dead. The body of a Vietnamese tour guide also was recovered, said Ngo Van Hung, director of Ha Long Bay’s management board. Nine foreign tourists and six Vietnamese were rescued, and efforts were underway to find others who still may be missing.
Police investigator Vu Van Bot said authorities were contacting local weather forecasters to determine whether the seas were rough at the time of the incident.
A tourism hotspot in Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is about three hours east of the capital, Hanoi. Many visitors opt to stay overnight on boats with sleeping cabins to cruise the picturesque bay, which is dotted with limestone formations.
