The boat had barely left the island when it flipped.

Fifteen Indian tourists died in the Vietnam speedboat capsizing off Phu Quoc on Saturday afternoon — less than half a kilometre from shore, in full view of people who could do nothing but scream for help.

The captain has now been detained.

What Happened

The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four Vietnamese crew members when it overturned shortly after departing Hon May Rut Ngoai island, near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island.

It was roughly 12:40 p.m. local time. The vessel had travelled perhaps 500 metres.

Captain Nguyen Hong Hai, 57, is now under investigation for alleged violations of waterway transport safety regulations, according to state media.

The Trip

All 15 victims were part of a company excursion organised by Lava International, an Indian smartphone and consumer electronics manufacturer, for its employees, distributors and retail partners.

The Indian Embassy confirmed the breakdown of the dead: ten from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh, two from Kerala.

Sixteen survivors have been discharged from hospital and are returning to India. One remains in critical condition in Vietnam.

The bodies are being transported to Ho Chi Minh City before being flown home, pending official formalities.

Watching From Shore

Ashish Kumar, a 48-year-old distributor from Guntur, saw it happen.

The group had split into three boats to travel between islands. The first had departed. The other two were still docked when the accident occurred.

The boat was close enough that everything was visible.

“We screamed, ‘Help! Help!'” Kumar told The Associated Press by phone.

Nearby vessels rushed toward the scene immediately.

“But by then it was too late,” he said.

The Rescue That Couldn’t Reach Them

Ha Van Loc was piloting a nearby boat when he spotted the overturned hull.

What he described to state media VN Express is difficult to read.

Around a dozen people were clinging to the capsized boat. Others — without life jackets — were struggling in open water.

“They were being submerged by the waves but still waving their hands for help,” Loc said.

He could not get close. The seas were too rough, and he feared his propeller would injure the people in the water.

Instead, he and his crew threw life buoys attached to ropes, pulling four survivors aboard within ten minutes.

Realising more people remained trapped, he recorded a short video and alerted other operators in the area. Within minutes, nearly a dozen boats and rescue teams arrived.

The Conditions

Waves reached up to three metres — roughly ten feet.

Larger boats could not manoeuvre safely. Jet Skis proved more effective, reaching survivors and carrying them ashore one at a time.

That detail alone raises an obvious question: why was a speedboat carrying 36 people operating in those conditions at all?

The Life Jacket Problem

This is where the account becomes damning.

Passengers told VN Express that the captain instructed everyone to wear life jackets before departure.

Many, however, simply carried them in their hands.

When the boat capsized, some passengers were trapped inside and had to escape through the bow or the windows.

An instruction that is not enforced is not a safety measure. It is paperwork.

No Help Waiting on Shore

Kumar described what happened once survivors were brought back to land.

There was no emergency medical care available.

Tourists and tour company staff took turns performing CPR and administering oxygen to victims, according to state media.

Two emergency resuscitation doctors and one nurse were eventually dispatched. Seventeen injured people were admitted to Phu Quoc Sun Hospital.

The Broader Context

Phu Quoc and Hon May Rut are among Vietnam’s most popular beach destinations — white sand, clear water, millions of visitors annually.

India has become one of Vietnam’s fastest-growing tourism markets.

Vietnam welcomed roughly 750,000 Indian visitors in 2025 — an increase of nearly 50% over the previous year.

Officials credit two factors:

• An expanding network of direct flights between Indian and Vietnamese cities
• Vietnam’s liberal e-visa policy

Growth on that scale places enormous strain on tourism infrastructure, particularly the small-boat operators ferrying visitors between islands.

The Questions That Follow

The investigation will focus on the captain. But the failures appear broader than one man.

• Should the boat have sailed in three-metre seas?
• Was the vessel overloaded?
• Why were life jackets not enforced before departure?
• Why was there no emergency medical provision at a departure point serving thousands of tourists?

Fifteen people boarded a boat for a company outing. They were 500 metres from land, in sight of their colleagues, when it turned over.

That distance should not have been fatal. It was.