Overloading is the initial reason of the recent capsize of a cruise boat in the Han River in Da Nang city on the night of June 4, leaving three people missing, according to the central city’ authorities.

Searching for the mising is still underway.

The initial investigation results showed that the ship owner violated regulations on transportation of passengers and the boat was overloaded, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Huynh Duc Tho said at a press conference in the city on June 5.

There were 56 people, including four Malaysians, on board when the accident happened, he said, adding 53 have been rescued so far while three others remain unaccounted for, including two children.

Sixteen passengers are receiving treatment at hospitals and most of them declare better health status.

Searching for the missing tourists is still underway.

Local authorities have urged the Department of Health to actively treat patients and take good care of their family members.

The city has suspended all activities of tourist boats in the Han River for safety purpose while requesting relevant agencies to tighten departure procedures before resuming these activities.

Ship Thao Van coded DNa-0016 sunk in the Han River at 8:25 pm on June 4 after departure of 15 minutes. Its capacity is 28 seats.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc came to the site on June 5 to direct the settlement of consequences.

He urged Da Nang city to continuously search for the missing and support their family members.

He requested to promptly investigate the case and commence criminal proceedings against violators to have strict punishment.

Localities and sectors must devise specific plans to ensure waterway transport safety, he said.

The incident happened at around 8:25 pm when the Thao Van 2 cruise ship suddenly turned over at a river section in front of the Novotel Hotel in the city downtown.   The number of people on board could be 46 instead of 38 as reported by the ship owner previously, Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy chairman of  the Danang People's Committee said.     By 2 am June 4, 43 people, including four Malaysian tourists, were rescued and rushed to hospitals in the city.     Three passengers - two children from the northern province of Thai Nguyen, and a man from the central province of Binh Dinh  are still missing.     Four of the survivors, including a Malaysian couple, are in critical condition. A survivor, who wanted to remain unnamed, said the ship turned over around 15 minutes into the cruise and no emergency call was made. Witnesses said they saw the ship turning over and sinking without colliding with any boat or floating object. Do Thi Huong, one of the survivors, said the passengers were not told to wear life jackets. "The ship has movable chairs just like at a cafe. The ship tilted aside when too many people sat on one side. They were terrified and ran to the other side,  making the ship capsize," she said.     Local authorities have mobilized around 200 rescuers to search for the missing people. By 11 p.m on June 4, the ship was retrieved but there was no person inside. Rescuers assumed that there may be other victims being washed down the river.       They also found that the ship had been modified from a fishing boat and did not register to carry tourists.     In 2014, the Thao Van 2 sank when carrying 10 tourists on the Han River. Luckily, all of them were rescued.

VNA