Vietnam boat sinks, 22 dead, scores missing
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-01 17:23

A boat carrying Vietnamese school children and their teachers on a holiday outing sank off the country's south coat and 22 of them had drowned and about 70 were missing, officials said Saturday.

The boat, a fishing vessel illegally carrying passengers, developed a leak and began taking on water as it was heading to Hon Khoai island Friday. Police said initial reports suggested the boat's pump had broken down as water poured in.

Some frantic children used mobile phones to call their parents for help as the boat went down, police said.

"There is not much hope for the missing," a district official in Vietnam's southernmost province of Ca Mau told Reuters.

The children, aged between 12 and 15, were on a school trip during a four-day May Day holiday weekend. Hon Khoai island, about 17 km (10 miles) off Ca Mau Cape, is well known for its marine life.

Several military vessels and nearly 40 fishing boats were searching for survivors and 111 people had been rescued. The boat had been carrying nearly 200 people and about 70 were still missing, police said.

Hundreds of the children's relatives were waiting on the shore for news of their loved ones, police said.

A couple that owns the boat had been detained for questioning. The boat was registered as a fishing vessel and was not allowed to ferry tourists, police said.

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