Vietnam Boat Tragedy: 15 Indians Killed to Be Repatriated; 16 Survivors Returning Hom
The remains of the 15 Indian tourists who died in Vietnam, will be brought to India on Monday night, the Indian Embassy in Vietnam said.
The flight is scheduled to depart Ho Chi Minh City at 6:00 p.m. local time and arrive at Mumbai at 9:35 p.m. IST, via a Vietnam Airlines flight, it said in a social media post.
"The respective state governments have been informed and have been requested to kindly coordinate with the affected families for the onward journey of the mortal remains to their final destinations," it said in the post.
The incident occurred on Saturday as the boat carrying 32 Indian tourists, three Vietnamese crew members and a tour guide overturned in rough seas off May Rut Ngoai, an island near Phu Quoc.
The remaining 21 rescued were discharged from hospital and were flying back to India, Vietnamese media said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the 57-year-old captain of the boat has been arrested for "violations of laws" which resulted in the boat capsizing.
Vietnamese media outlet Tuoi Tre reported that "initial assessments by Vietnamese authorities suggest this was an unavoidable incident caused by extreme weather conditions" that shifted rapidly. However, state media cited a witness saying he saw the overturned boat with many clinging on to the hull, while others drifted away at sea without life jackets.
In India, survivors of the incidents who had returned to their country expressed outrage over the delay in medical attention, according to News agency Press Trust of India.
