Boat carrying tourists had barely left island when it capsized, says Indian witness of Vietnam tragedy

New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) A boat carrying a group of Indian tourists that capsized off an island in south Vietnam on Saturday had barely travelled 300-400 metres from the shore when it suddenly overturned, an Indian national who witnessed the tragedy said. Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old distributor of a mobile phone company from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur, said the tourists were divided into batches and ferried to the island as part of a company outing. "We had all gone there as sellers, distributors and employees of Lava Mobile. We reached Vietnam on July 9 and were supposed to return to India on Sunday morning," Kumar told PTI over the phone. According to him, one of the three boats, carrying 32 Indian tourists, had left the Hon May Rut Ngoai island for another island, while the remaining two groups were still on Hon May Rut Ngoai, taking photographs. "The incident happened around 1:30 pm local time. The boat had gone barely 300 to 400 metres when it tipped over. We were taking pictures and it happened before we could react," he said. "The boat had hardly left the island. We were all screaming for help," Kumar said, adding that the weather conditions were not adverse. "There was some wind but that is expected in an island," he said. He said rescue teams reached the spot soon after and brought the survivors and bodies back to the shore, but claimed that no medical teams were immediately available. "The rescue teams got active and the bodies were brought back. However, there were no medical teams even to administer CPR. We are all in a state of shock," he said. Kumar said while he was travelling alone, several members of the group had come with their families. "A distributor friend I know was travelling with his wife on the boat. His wife has died, while he is fighting for his life in a hospital," he said. The group has since returned to its hotel, he added. In a statement, Lava International said it is "deeply saddened" by the tragedy and confirmed that those involved included some of its channel partners and team members. "We are in constant touch with the Embassy of India in Vietnam and the local authorities to gather information about the safety and well-being of our people. Our immediate priority is to extend all possible support to those affected and their families," the company said. It said its teams in both India and Vietnam are in regular contact with the families, providing all possible assistance. Fifteen Indian tourists were killed in the incident, according to Vietnamese media reports. The speedboat also had four crew members on board when the accident occurred. PTI SBR RC