The mortal remains of the 15 Indian tourists who were killed in a speedboat accident off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island will be repatriated to India on Monday, the Indian Embassy in Vietnam said.In a post on X, the embassy said the bodies would be flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Mumbai on Vietnam Airlines flight VN979. The flight is scheduled to depart Ho Chi Minh City at 1800 hrs local time and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 2135 hrs IST.“The mortal remains of the 15 Indian nationals who tragically lost their lives in the 11 July boat accident will be repatriated from Ho Chi Minh City to India today via Vietnam Airlines flight VN979,” the embassy said.It added that the respective state governments had been informed and requested to coordinate with the affected families for the onward transportation of the mortal remains to their final destinations.“The Embassy in Hanoi and the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City pray for the family members of the deceased. We are available for any assistance,” the mission said.The accident occurred on Saturday when a speedboat carrying 32 Indian tourists and four local crew members capsized near Hon May Rut Ngoai, off Phu Quoc Island. Fifteen Indian tourists died, while 17 others were rescued.The embassy said 16 of the 17 survivors have been discharged from hospital and are on their way back to India. One survivor, who remains in critical condition, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Phu Quoc.Among those killed were 10 tourists from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala. The governments of the three states have issued helpline numbers to assist the families of those affected.The tourists were reportedly returning from an island excursion when the speedboat overturned about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai island. Nearby tourist boats and Vietnamese rescue agencies launched a search-and-rescue operation, with eyewitnesses saying some passengers were trapped inside the overturned vessel.
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