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Crew to blame for sinking tragedy
Source: Agencies |
February 21, 2011, Monday
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VIETNAMESE police said yesterday that human error was to blame for the sinking of a tour boat in Ha Long Bay that killed 12 sleeping -passengers. The vessel's captain and a crew member have been arrested.
A valve that allows water to come into the boat to cool the engine was left open while the vessel was anchored for the night, Quang Ninh provincial police spokesman Le Thanh Binh said. The engine was turned off, preventing a pump from running to push the water out, he said.
Eleven foreign tourists from eight countries were among those who drowned when the boat went down in the scenic bay last week.
"The initial police investigation showed that the man in charge of the boat engine forgot to close the valve that allowed water in to cool the engine before he, the -captain and other crew went to bed," Binh said. "When they found out about that, it was too late."
The tour boat was inundated with water when it went down at about 5am on Thursday, trapping passengers in their overnight cabins. All of the Vietnamese crew survived, along with nine foreign tourists. But 11 vacationers from the United States, Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland drowned along with their Vietnamese tour guide.
Boat captain Nguyen Van Minh, 22, and Do Van Thang, 27, who was in charge of the engine, were arrested on Saturday, Binh said. The two, along with three other crew members, had been detained earlier for questioning.
The bodies of 10 of the foreign victims have been released to their families.
A valve that allows water to come into the boat to cool the engine was left open while the vessel was anchored for the night, Quang Ninh provincial police spokesman Le Thanh Binh said. The engine was turned off, preventing a pump from running to push the water out, he said.
Eleven foreign tourists from eight countries were among those who drowned when the boat went down in the scenic bay last week.
"The initial police investigation showed that the man in charge of the boat engine forgot to close the valve that allowed water in to cool the engine before he, the -captain and other crew went to bed," Binh said. "When they found out about that, it was too late."
The tour boat was inundated with water when it went down at about 5am on Thursday, trapping passengers in their overnight cabins. All of the Vietnamese crew survived, along with nine foreign tourists. But 11 vacationers from the United States, Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland drowned along with their Vietnamese tour guide.
Boat captain Nguyen Van Minh, 22, and Do Van Thang, 27, who was in charge of the engine, were arrested on Saturday, Binh said. The two, along with three other crew members, had been detained earlier for questioning.
The bodies of 10 of the foreign victims have been released to their families.
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