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Sunday, July 20, 2025, 13:38 GMT+7

Thunderstorm, not storm Wipha, behind tourist boat capsizing in Ha Long Bay that killed at least 35: weather expert

A tourist boat, with 49 people on board, flipped over in Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, killing at least 35 people, due to a powerful thunderstorm triggered by a tropical convergence zone and prolonged heat, not by storm Wipha, according to a meteorological expert.

Thunderstorm, not storm Wipha, behind tourist boat capsizing in Ha Long Bay that killed at least 35: weather expert

Weather radar imagery at 1:30 pm, July 19, 2025 included in a thunderstorm, whirlwind, and strong wind warning bulletin shows that thunderstorms were covering both the mainland and coastal areas of Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam. Photo: Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

The tourist boat capsized while traveling in Ha Long Bay at around 2:00 pm on Saturday. 

Before the tragic incident, the vessel had lost its GPS signal. 

Border guards and rescuers were quickly mobilized, along with dozens of boats, to the scene for search and rescue efforts. 

As of 10:00 am on Sunday morning, rescuers had saved 10 people, and recovered 35 bodies, while four were still missing after the fatal incident, as per the most updated figures.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, widespread thunderstorms struck the northern region, with several areas experiencing strong winds, whirlwinds, and heavy rains on Saturday afternoon.

Downpours reached intense levels in some areas.

Besides, Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City suffered wind gusts at severe levels (8-10).

Meteorologists attributed the intense weather to the tropical convergence zone that passed through northern Vietnam, compounded by high temperatures over the past three days.

This combination created strong vertical air currents under unstable atmospheric conditions, resulting in a severe thunderstorm.

The weather system was described as a ‘tropical mesoscale convective system’ – medium-scale thunderstorm complexes capable of producing extreme rainfall and dangerous weather events such as lightning, whirlwinds, and strong gusts.

The system can span from a few kilometers to several hundred kilometers in diameter and may persist for 12 to 24 hours, far exceeding the lifespan and intensity of isolated thunderstorms.

At the time of the incident, storm Wipha was located over 1,000 kilometers east of Ha Long Bay, with peak winds at 89-102 km/h (level 10) and gusts up to level 12.

As such, the storm had not yet directly impacted the Gulf of Tonkin region.

Mai Van Khiem, head of the national weather center, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the thunderstorm affecting Quang Ninh, Hanoi, and other northern provinces on Saturday afternoon was not caused by storm Wipha.

According to a rapid report from the Quang Ninh Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue, the tourist boat QN7105 capsized unexpectedly while navigating Route 2 in Ha Long Bay, about three nautical miles from the mainland, due to a sudden thunderstorm with strong winds.

A representative from the national weather center stated that the marine weather bulletin issued at 4:30 am on Saturday forecast scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Gulf of Tonkin during the day.

The bulletin warned of potential whirlwinds and strong gusts associated with these thunderstorms.

Thunderstorm, not storm Wipha, behind tourist boat capsizing in Ha Long Bay that killed at least 35: weather expert - Ảnh 2.

A rescue vessel approaches the capsized tourist boat in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province, July 19, 2025. Photo: Tien Nguyen

The Quang Ninh meteorological station reported that all forecasting and warning procedures were carried out in accordance with regulations.

Using radar monitoring, the station issued two weather bulletins on Saturday, one at 11:45 am and another at 1:30 pm.

The latter specifically warned of showers and thunderstorms for various wards and communes in the province, including Ha Long Ward.

Furthermore, a long-term marine forecast released on July 1 at 3:30 pm had already anticipated possible thunderstorms and rough seas in the Ha Long Bay area for July 19.

Tieu Bac - Chi Tue / Tuoi Tre News

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