Vietnam Boat Tragedy: All 15 people who died in the tourist boat that capsized on Saturday at Vietnam's Phu Quoc coast were linked to Lava Mobiles, the company confirmed. As per the company's statement, of the deceased, 14 were channel partners, including dealers and distributors, while one was a company employee. The trip was an incentive tour organised by Lava to reward its partners. Expressing deep sorrow on X, Lava Mobiles stated that it is devastated by the tragic loss of its team members and channel partners and is working to support the affected families.
It added that Lava is in "constant touch with the Embassy of India in Vietnam and the local authorities to gather information about the safety and well-being of our people. Our immediate priority is to extend all possible support to those affected and their families. Our teams in both India and Vietnam are in regular contact with the families and are providing all possible assistance."
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In the post, the mobile company mentioned that a control room has been created by the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City, as mentioned in the post by the mobile company. by the Consulate General of India in Ho Chi Minh City. Families who are seeking information can contact the Control Room at +84 36 281 7930, +84 91 552 37 14, or +84 33 452 0414.
"We are awaiting further updates from the authorities and will continue to provide timely information as it becomes available to us," the post read.
Expressing deep sorrow about the boat tragey Lava Mobiles' Managing Director Sunil Raina, said, "I am devastated by this tragic incident in Vietnam. My heart goes out to everyone affected and to the families who are enduring this unimaginable loss."
According to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi, 36 people were on board the boat, including 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members. Twenty-one people were rescued, while 15 Indian tourists lost their lives. Among the dead were 10 people from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala.
What Do We Know About the Deceased?
Of the deceased, ten were from Tamil Nadu. They have been identified as J Senthil Kumar, A Muruga Prabhu, S Sridhar, Shaik Abdullah Abdul Majeed, N Balaji, C B Vinaya Kumar, S Ravishankar, S Santosh Kumar, K Babu and S Alagurajan.
According to HT, S Alagurajan's family was among the first to learn about the incident at around 3.30 pm on Saturday through news on TV. Alagurajan's father-in-law said that he left for Vietnam last Wednesday after meeting a three-month sales target. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Three people from Andhra Pradesh died in the tragedy. Among them, Mudiam Sridhar (45) worked as a distributor under the banner of Kaushik Communications and separately owned three mobile retail outlets in the district. He left for the trip on July 8 as part of a dealer meet. His brother Ramesh claimed that the family learned about the incident through a fellow distributor who survived it. Sridhar is survived by his wife, Dhanalakshmi, and two children.
Gelli Jayasri, 35, of Machilipatnam, and N. Ravi Teja, 41, of Sri Sathya Sai district, were also among the dead. Jayasri’s husband, Gelli Kishore, 40, was in critical condition in a Vietnamese hospital; the couple had travelled on the same Lava tour and were due back on Sunday. Ravi Teja’s family could not be reached.
Two people from Kerala's Kottarakkhara were also among the dead. They were identified as A C Thomas (57) and his wife Loveni Thomas (56).
What Did The Survivors Say?
Survivor Nirmal Kumar, hailing from Tamil Nadu's Palani, said the speedboat overturned within seconds, reportedly due to high waves and possible overloading. He said most passengers were from Tamil Nadu and that two survivors remained in critical condition in hospital, PTI reported.
A second survivor, Ashish Kumar, a Lava distributor from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur, claimed the tourists had been divided into batches for island-hopping excursions. The boat carrying 32 Indian tourists had travelled only a few hundred metres from Hon May Rut Ngoai Island when it suddenly capsized around 1.30 pm local time.
"We were taking pictures, and before we could react, the boat tipped over. We were all screaming for help," he said, adding that rescue teams reached the site quickly.
Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island, is a popular tourist destination known for its beaches, coral reefs and island-hopping tours. The circumstances surrounding the capsize are under investigation.
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