Bodies Of 15 Indians Killed In Vietnam Boat Tragedy Reach Mumbai

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was enveloped in a wave of deep grief as a repatriation flight landed carrying the mortal remains of 15 Indian tourists who perished in a tragic speedboat capsizing in Vietnam.

The victims were members of a group on a tour of the island-hopping tour off the coast of the tropical paradise Phu Quoc Island when tragedy struck.

The Island Excursion That Ended in Tragedy

The disaster occurred when a speedboat carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members capsized about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai Island. The vessel capsized in rough seas as passengers, many of them mobile phone dealers and partners on a company-sponsored reward trip organised by Lava International, were returning from a day on the water.

Local emergency response teams and nearby vessels launched a massive rescue operation, pulling 16 survivors from the water. But 15 tourists, two of them women, could not be saved.

The 16 survivors have since been returned safely to India, but one remains in a critical condition in hospital with severe lung damage, multiple injuries and bleeding in the brain following a near-drowning.

Back Home for Final Rites

The Indian Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, in close coordination with the Vietnamese authorities, expedited the repatriation process. The bodies were flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Mumbai on a Vietnam Airlines flight VN979.

Flight Number VN979, Vietnam Airlines
Port of Arrival: Bombay (BOM)
Time of Arrival: 9:19 PM IST
At the airport, coordination teams began the solemn task of preparing the remains for the final leg of their journey. The victims were from three southern states, but the largest single group came from one region:

Tamil Nadu: 10 killed

Andhra Pradesh: Three victims

2 victims Kerala

The respective state governments have set up special coordination lines at the airport to extend direct assistance to the waiting families and facilitate immediate and respectful transportation of the bodies back to their hometowns for final rites', the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Criminal Investigation and Prosecution
In the wake of the high-casualty accident, the local government in Vietnam has taken swift legal action. Vietnamese police have formally arrested the speedboat operator. Investigators are probing possible serious safety violations and the boat’s structural integrity at the time of the capsize, and criminal proceedings have been initiated.