Vietnam boat tragedy: Bodies of 15 Indian tourists to be flown home; one survivor critical

Hanoi: The mortal remains of the 15 Indian tourists who died in a speedboat accident off Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island are being transported to Ho Chi Minh City before being flown to India, the Indian Embassy in Hanoi said on Sunday.

In an update shared on X, the embassy said the bodies would reach Ho Chi Minh City by Sunday evening. After the completion of necessary formalities, they will be repatriated to India at the earliest.

The embassy said its teams were working closely with Vietnamese authorities, who have assured full assistance to expedite the transportation of the victims' bodies.

The accident occurred on Saturday when a speedboat carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members capsized near Hon May Rut Ngoai, off Phu Quoc Island. Fifteen Indian tourists lost their lives, while the remaining passengers were rescued.

The embassy also confirmed that 16 of the 17 surviving Indian tourists have been discharged from hospital and are on their way back to India. One survivor remains in a critical condition and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Phu Quoc.

"After obtaining medical treatment, 15 survivors of yesterday's tragic boat accident have been discharged from hospital and are travelling back to India. Of the two patients in critical care, one has been discharged and is travelling back to India. The other is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Phu Quoc," the embassy said.

According to the embassy, 10 of the deceased were from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two were from Kerala. Two of the victims were women.

The victims from Tamil Nadu were identified as Senthil Kumar Jayavel, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam, Sridhar Sundararajan, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, Balaji Natesan, Vinaya Kumar Chithirapuram Bhaskara, Ravisankar Sugumaran, Santosh Kumar Shantilaljain, Babu Kuppuswamy and Alagurajan Sivasamy.

The deceased from Andhra Pradesh were Nallapeta Adiseshaiah Raviteja, Sreedhar Mudiam and Jaya Lakshmi Gelli. The two victims from Kerala were identified as Avicot Cheriyan Thomas and Loveni Thomas.

The governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have issued helpline numbers to assist the families of those affected.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island, is a popular tourist destination known for its white-sand beaches, coral reefs and island-hopping excursions. The group was reportedly returning from an island visit when the speedboat overturned about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai in the An Thoi archipelago.

The exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has ordered an investigation into the incident and directed authorities to identify the cause of the accident and hold those responsible accountable, according to local media reports.