Using a flycam to find missing people
Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, chaired a press conference to inform about the case of the blue Bay ship 58 QN-7105 capsizing in a thunderstorm, killing 35 people and leaving 4 missing.
According to the latest information provided at the press conference, more than 500 fishermen familiar with the terrain have joined the search for the victims.
There are 10 cases that were rescued and are being treated at the hospital and their health is currently stable. Quang Ninh province exempts all hospital fees.
The 10-year-old child who was rescued in the train capsize was transferred to Hanoi National Children's Hospital.
For the unfortunate victims, the province mobilized many ambulances to take the bodies back to their hometowns.
Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province Nguyen Van Cong also said: We will continue to receive support for families with victims and have a way to sponsor orphans.
The authorities have been searching for the remaining 4 missing victims since morning and are still trying to complete the search before the storm comes. Currently, the authorities are flying flycams at the tidal areas to search.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Cong: The ship sank at around 1:45 p.m., but the province did not receive the information until 3:30 p.m. The province immediately deployed rescue forces. Chairman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee Pham Duc An directly went to the scene to direct the search.
The police will investigate
According to Colonel Hoang Van Thuyet - Political Commissar of the Quang Ninh Provincial Military Command, the rescue force was dispatched to the scene 15 minutes after receiving the information.
Regarding the number of victims, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province said that he would assign the police to clarify further.
At the press conference, Lieutenant Colonel Cu Quoc Thang, Deputy Director of Quang Ninh Provincial Police, said that he would investigate the incident to have official information and would continue to verify the responsibility of related units.
Ship capsized before meteorological agency reported thunderstorms
According to Mr. Bui Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh province, the safety regulations for Ha Long Bay tourist boats are higher than the national standards. The capsized ship has a safety coefficient of 2 and 3 while the general regulation is only over 1.
According to regulations, passengers traveling on a passenger ship crossing the river wearing a life jacket; in the case of a tourist ship on the Green Bay 58 QN-7105, it is not mandatory to wear a life jacket, except in emergency cases. According to the authorities, when searching for the bodies in the boat, 80% of the victims were wearing life jackets.
The Quang Ninh Hydrometeorological Agency provides 3 weather reports per day for tourism. At 1:30 p.m. the same day, the meteorological agency issued a thunderstorm notice - that was also the time when the boat was not licensed to depart.
At 3:00 p.m., there was a notice of normal weather, so the authorities continued to issue orders for the ship to operate. When receiving unfavorable weather information, the Inland Waterway Authority has notified ship owners.
It is known that the ship capsized and left the wharf at more than 12:00.
After this accident, the Department will develop an information process, a more specific handling method, and will study and review to advise the province on solutions to improve the quality of the fleet, in accordance with the conditions of Ha Long Bay.
At the press conference, the Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ninh commented: This is a very unfortunate incident, people are lost, injured, and the tourism industry is affected.
35 dead, 4 missing
According to the police, the total number of people on the boat was 49, including 46 passengers and 3 crew members. Previously, there was information that the total number of people on the ship was 48 (the list of people completing procedures to pass the port was also 48 passengers) and 5 crew members. Thus, with 35 bodies found, along with 10 people saved, there are currently 4 people missing.
At around 1:30 a.m. on July 20, after many efforts, the authorities capsized the QN 7105 tourist boat back to normal position.
However, the authorities only found 3 more bodies, including one body suspected to be captain Doan Van Trinh, in the area at the tail of the ship.
Nearly 1,000 people from the units and more than 100 vehicles participated in the search for the missing victims.
The latest discussion at 10:00 a.m. on July 20 by Lao Dong Newspaper reporter with Mr. Pham The The - Director of Quang Ninh Province Hydrometeorological Station clarified the issuance of forecasts warning about dangerous phenomena on July 19.
"Regarding the 24/24 weather monitoring process, when detecting thunderstorms and unusually dangerous weather, the Quang Ninh Provincial Hydrometeorological Station immediately issued warnings and sent them to competent authorities according to regulations, to implement direction and response plans" - Mr. The said.
These reports all warn that during thunderstorms, it is necessary to be on guard against dangerous weather phenomena such as lightning, tornadoes, strong gusts of wind and landslides, which can break trees, damage houses, traffic works, infrastructure and endanger people's lives. The warning level of natural disaster risk due to tornadoes, lightning, and hail is level 1.
Requesting agencies, units and people in affected areas to pay attention to monitoring and proactively preventing to ensure safety.
Agencies and units receiving warning bulletins on September 19:
- Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee Office
- People's Committee of Quang Ninh province
- Quang Ninh Maritime Port Authority
- Quang Ninh Inland Waterway Port
- Quang Ninh Newspaper
- The Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention - Search and Rescue and Civil Defense.
