Severe weather kills dozens in Vietnam, South Korea
HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM/SEOUL—A tourist boat capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing at least 35 people, state media reported.
The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports.
Rescue workers saved 12 people and earlier recovered five bodies near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Four people are still reported missing.
The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said.
Trapped in hull
A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.
The Wonder Sea has been salvaged and was seen on Sunday being towed to a shipyard for investigation.
The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country’s capital.
A tropical storm is also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said that Storm “Wipha” is expected to hit Vietnam’s northern region, including Ha Long Bay’s coast next week.
Meanwhile, torrential rains that slammed South Korea for five days have left 14 people dead and 12 others missing, the government said on Sunday.
House collapse
One person was killed on Sunday after their house collapsed during heavy rain and another person was found dead after being swept by a swollen stream in Gapyeong, a town northeast of Seoul, the Interior and Safety Ministry said.
The ministry said eight people were discovered dead and six others were reported missing in the southern town of Sancheong on Saturday after heavy downpours caused landslides, house collapses and flash floods there.
A ministry report said that six people remain missing in Gapyeong and the southern city of Gwangju.
Earlier last week, three people were found dead in a submerged car, and a person was also killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete after a retaining wall of an overpass collapsed in Osan, just south of Seoul, during heavy rain.
As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, about 3,840 people remain evacuated from their homes, the ministry report said. The rain stopped in most of South Korea on Sunday, and heavy rain alerts have been subsequently lifted throughout the country, ministry officials said.
Since Wednesday, southern regions have received about 600-800 millimeters of rain, according to the ministry report.
