Ferry accident kills three foreign tourists in Vietnam
HANOI - Two Chinese tourists and one South Korean tourist were killed when a hydrofoil ferry hit a cargo ship in northern Vietnam, an investigator said Saturday.
The hydrofoil ferry was carrying about 25 passengers, mostly Vietnamese. It was travelling from Halong Bay, the famed UN World Heritage site, to Mong Cai near the Chinese border on Friday when it
hit a cargo ship.
"The three foreign tourists were killed instantly and four Vietnamese passengers were seriously injured when the front part of the hydrofoil was crushed," said Trinh Quoc Dung, deputy head of the
investigation department of Quang Ninh province, 150 kilometres east of Hanoi.
The captain of the hydrofoil, Hoang Quoc Tinh, suffered a serious head injury.
"We are investigating to find out the cause of the accident," the investigator said. Thick fog was present when the accident happened, he said.
More details about the victims are not available, but Dung said officials from the Chinese and South Korean embassies in Vietnam have been notified and representatives will be in Mong Cai later Saturday.
Deutsche Presse Agentur - February 10, 2007.
China sends official to Vietnam following fatal ship collision
A Chinese official has gone to Vietnam to discuss with Vietnamese authorities the return of four Chinese tourists injured in a ship collision in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh province on Friday morning.
Wu Liancai, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Dongxing City in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, went to Vietnam on Friday following the accident that claimed the lives of two Chinese tourists.
"Wu is discussing with Vietnamese officials the possibility of sending back the injured Chinese tourists for medical treatment," Qin Juhua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangxi' Fangchenggang City, which administers Dongxing City, told Xinhua on Saturday.
"The injured Chinese tourists are in hospital and currently in a stable condition," Qin said.
"We have contacted the relatives of the dead tourists and informed them of the accident," she added.
The collision happened near Mong Cai town of Quang Ninh province Friday morning when a hydrofoil with 30 people on board, including five crew members, which had set out from the province's Ha Long City, hit a stationary cargo ship in conditions of poor visibility.
Two Chinese tourists and one tourist from the Republic of Korea were killed in the accident, and 18 others were injured, including nine severely.
Dongxing City and Mong Cai town are separated by a river.
Xinhua - February 11, 2007.
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