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| Authorised agencies investigate the sinking of the Thảo Vân 2 tourist boat in the Hàn River in central Đà Nẵng City, in which three people were killed on June 4. – VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn |
Viet Nam News
ĐÀ NẴNG — Đà Nẵng City People’s Procuracy will prosecute the former director of Đà Nẵng Port Authority of Inland Waterways for irresponsibility that led to the fatal tourist boat sinking on June 4.
Lê Sáu, the former director, will be out on bail for assist investigation.
Preliminary investigation showed that as director of the Đà Nẵng Port Authority of Inland Waterways, Sáu was irresponsible in his management of boats. This led to the boat Thảo Vân 2 which did not have a licence to carry tourists and was a modified fishing boat with a capacity of 28 people, had been carrying 56 passengers when it capsized.
The tourist boat overturned on the Hàn River at about 8.30pm on June 4, leading to the drowning of two children and a man and panic among several tourists.
The passengers had not been properly seated on deck, leading to too many people crowding one side of the boat and causing it to capsize.
Two days before the boat sank, the police had found that Thảo Vân 2 was operating without a licence and had reported to the authority. However, the agency did not suspend the boat’s operations.
Sáu was dismissed from his position after the tragedy. Three people - Nguyễn Ngọc Quân, a tour guide who sold tickets for the boat tour to customers; Lê Công Chí, the boat captain; and Võ Quốc Hùng, the owner of the boat - have been detained.
The city authority suspended the operation of all tourist boats on the Hàn River and halted the issue of licence to tourist boats that have been upgraded from fishing boats. — VNS
