A tourist died after falling off a cruise ship as it was approaching a port in Ha Long Bay, a famous destination in northern Vietnam, last weekend.

The People’s Committee in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province confirmed on Sunday that local units had found the body of Nguyen Ngoc Phat, 43, a visitor from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

Phat was among the 15 passengers who boarded the Long Giang cruise ship in Ha Long Bay on Saturday.

The ship, which has a capacity of 48 passengers, was steered by captain Tran Duy Cuong, 39, a resident of Ha Long.

At around 5:00 pm that day, the boat was carrying the tourists from Sung Sot Cave back to the mainland.

As they were approaching the port, the captain checked the CCTV and noticed that a passenger had fallen into the water.

The victim was standing near the bow of the ship prior to the accident.

Other passengers tried to help the victim by throwing lifebuoys into the water, but he was unable to grab them due to strong currents during low tide.

He eventually went missing.

Search and rescue personnel were sent to the site and found the victim’s body at around 9:00 pm the same day.

Police later performed an autopsy and temporarily suspended the operation of the Long Giang cruise ship to facilitate their investigation.

Recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site in 1994, Ha Long Bay includes nearly 2,000 islands and islets which form a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars of various shapes and sizes.

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