Passengers on one of the nation’s busiest cruise vessels at Ha Long Bay on May 6 were mustered at assembly stations after a fire broke out in a mechanical space, completely destroying the vessel.

In a statement, a Ha Long VIT Tourism Service Company spokesperson said the blaze aboard vessel QN6299 occurred as the ship was returning from a tour of the bay and pulling into the Tuan Chau international port.

Emergency services managed to evacuate all aboard the vessel but were unable to prevent the fire from rapidly spreading, causing it to sink. The ship is a complete loss, the statement said.

All 37 passengers and crew have been accounted for. No passengers were seriously injured, but several reported relatively minor injuries.

Nguyen Duc Long, chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee has taken charge of investigating the cause of the incident as well as providing medical care and other needed support for passengers and crew.

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VOV/Zing