34 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay

A tourist boat ferrying families around Vietnam's Ha Long Bay capsized in a storm on Saturday afternoon, leaving at least 34 people dead, according to state media reports, as rescuers scrambled to locate the missing. 

The vessel was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members when it capsized in the UNESCO World Heritage site because of sudden heavy rain, the VNExpress news site said.

Most of those on board were families visiting from the capital Hanoi, with more than 20 children among the passengers, it said.

"Border guards rescued 11 people and recovered 34 bodies," it added. 

Rescue efforts were set to continue into the night to find the eight still missing.

Ha Long Bay office worker Tran Trong Hung told AFP the storm started in the afternoon.

"The sky turned dark at around 2 pm (0700 GMT)," he said.

There were "hailstones as big as toes with torrential rain, thunderstorm and lightning", he said.

One of the rescued, a 10-year-old boy, told state media outlet VietnamNet: "I took a deep breath, swam through a gap, dived, then swam up. I even shouted for help, then I was pulled up by a boat with soldiers."

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and called on the defense and public security ministries to conduct urgent search and rescue.

Authorities would "investigate and clarify the cause of the incident and strictly handle violations", a statement on the government website said.

Torrential rain also lashed northern Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh provinces on Saturday.

In the capital about 175 kilometres (110 miles) away, several trees were knocked down by strong winds. 

The storm followed three days of intense heat, with the mercury hitting 37 degrees Celsius in some areas.

Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, was quoted in VNExpress as saying that the thunderstorms in northern Vietnam were not caused by the influence of Tropical Storm Wipha in the South China Sea.

Ha Long Bay is one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations, with millions of people visiting its blue-green waters and rainforest-topped limestone islands each year.

Last year, 30 vessels sank at boat lock areas in coastal Quang Ninh province along Ha Long Bay after Typhoon Yagi brought strong wind and waves.