Twelve people, most of them foreigners, drowned Thursday when their tour boat suddenly sank while they slept in Halong Bay, one of Vietnam's top tourist destinations, officials said. Visitors from the United States, Sweden, Russia, Britain, Japan, France and Switzerland were killed, the government said, describing it as a rare accident.
One survivor recounted a frantic attempt to escape from below deck as the vessel went down abruptly before dawn in calm weather on the picturesque bay, renowned for its striking limestone towers and emerald waters.