Passengers, including foreigners, aboard a hydrofoil from Ho Chi Minh City to the coastal city of Vung Tau yesterday received a shock when one of the glass windows on the vessel was broken, letting water in.

The incident occurred in the Bai Truoc area off Vung Tau at 4:20 pm Wednesday, when strong waves hit the Greenlines B3 and broke a glass window in the front hold of the vessel, which is operated by the Dong Song Xanh Joint Stock Company.

Water then entered the hold from the broken window, submerging it while soaking the passengers and their belongings. Meanwhile, strong waves continued to thrash the vessel, panicking the passengers.

All of the passengers on board, especially those in the affected hold, tried to get life jackets from underneath their seats, but many of them struggled since they had been tied too tightly to the bottom of the seats.

At 5 pm the hydrofoil docked at a harbor on the bank of the Dinh River in Rach Dua Ward, Vung Tau.

The hydrofoil’s captain then visited the passengers and asked them to report any injuries or losses they had suffered from the incident.

However, Dinh Ho Nam, one of the passengers, said, “Such an incident may affect the life and assets of the passengers, but the hydrofoil’s management have not given us any apologies or words that could set my mind at rest.”

Tuoitre/VNE