On Saturday, July 19, 2025, a tourist boat named Wonder Sea capsized in the famous Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh, Vietnam) due to a sudden storm and strong gusts of wind. The vessel was carrying approximately 48 tourists and five crew members, all Vietnamese, including around 20 families with children. So far, 34 fatalities have been confirmed, and several people remain missing.
Rescue teams, including the border guard, navy, and port police, have deployed 27 boats and two speedboats to aid in the operation, which has been complicated by heavy rain and limited visibility. Eleven people have been rescued alive, including a 14-year-old boy who was trapped for nearly four hours in an air pocket inside the overturned hull, and a 10-year-old who was hospitalized in stable condition.
The accident occurred near the Dau Go cave around 2:00 p.m. local time, just as the boat lost GPS signal. The storm is linked to the advance of Typhoon Wipha, the third of the season in the South China Sea, which has worsened the situation.
Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Vietnam’s top tourist attractions, receives millions of visitors each year. This incident echoes previous tragedies in which extreme weather conditions have endangered tourist safety in the area.
Why did a tourist boat get caught in such a sudden storm?
Vietnamese authorities explained that the Wonder Sea was suddenly hit by an electric storm with violent winds around 1:30–2:00 p.m. local time. There was no time for passengers to put on life jackets or return to the dock, and the capsizing happened within seconds, flipping the boat instantly.
