Three Andhra tourists killed, two hospitalised in Vietnam boat mishap

Amaravati: Three people from Andhra Pradesh were killed and two others from the state were hospitalised in Vietnam following a tourist boat capsize near Phu Quoc Island, sources in the Andhra Pradesh government said on Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the deaths of three Andhra Pradesh people in the Vietnam boat tragedy. Two injured tourists are undergoing treatment.

“Three Andhra Pradesh people died in the Vietnam boat mishap. We are coordinating with the Indian Embassy and the Vietnamese authorities, and all necessary assistance is being extended to the affected families. Further updates will be shared as more official information becomes available,” Andhra Pradesh government sources told PTI.

The tourist speedboat carrying 32 Indian tourists and four crew members capsized near Phu Quoc Island while returning to An Thoi Port, the sources further said.

The accident claimed the lives of 15 Indian tourists, while 21 others were rescued. Of the survivors, 17 were passengers, and four were crew members.

Naidu said 33 people from Andhra Pradesh visited Vietnam, of whom 19 were on the boat. Three died, while the remaining passengers were rescued. Reviewing the incident, the chief minister sought details of relief measures and the tourists’ condition.

He directed officials to ensure the survivors’ safe return to Andhra Pradesh.

“Officials should remain in touch with the families of the deceased and provide them with all required assistance,” Naidu said in a press release.

Naidu also directed officials in Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi to coordinate with Vietnamese authorities and the Indian Embassy to provide all required support to affected tourists and families.

The three deceased from Andhra Pradesh have been identified as N Adiseshaiah Ravi Teja from Hindupuram in Sri Satya Sai district, Mudiyam Sreedhar of Kadapa district and Gelli Jaya Lakshmi of Machilipatnam in Krishna district, official sources said.

Meanwhile, reacting to the tragedy, Teja’s brother said the 41-year-old had left for Vietnam on July 8 on a company-sponsored incentive trip organised for mobile phone distributors.

“We have been hearing that he died in the boat accident, but it is still hard to believe because we have not received any official confirmation,” he told reporters.

Similarly, family members of Sreedhar said he had travelled from Kadapa to Chennai, then Bangkok and onward to Vietnam on July 8. He was expected to return within two days.

“We received a call informing us about the accident, but we are still unable to believe it. We can accept it only after seeing his body,” a family member said.

Another relative said Sridhar’s trip had been sponsored by a mobile phone company as he was its distributor in Kadapa district.

“The company’s employee, Nayeem, informed us about the incident. Doctors in Vietnam later confirmed his death,” the relative said.

The families appealed to the authorities to facilitate the early repatriation of the bodies to Andhra Pradesh.

Rescue operations have concluded, with all 36 persons on board accounted for. An investigation has been launched, with adverse weather, rough sea conditions and possible mechanical failure being examined as possible causes of the accident.

The tour was organised by Vietnam-based Threeland Travel through local coordinating vendor Sai Vietnam, while the Indian tourist group was reportedly associated with the mobile company.

Meanwhile, Harihar Srinivas, a member of the Indian tourists group, told PTI on Saturday that 105 mobile distributors from South India had travelled to Vietnam on a business incentive trip.

According to Srinivas, eight people from Telangana were also part of the overall tour, but none of them was on the boat that capsized.

He said the group had reached the island on Saturday.

“As far as we know, around 70 members were hospitalised. We took them to the hospital, but we do not know what happened afterwards because we are still on the island,” he said.

Explaining the incident, Srinivas said strong winds caused the boat to overturn. It was a closed boat. That is the issue. If it had been an open boat, the risk might not have been as high, he added.