{"id":34734,"date":"2026-07-13T13:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/vietnam-speedboat-accident-the-boat-was-literally-flying-indian-woman-recounts-terrifying-ride-after-vietnam-speedboat-tragedy\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:57:08","slug":"vietnam-speedboat-accident-the-boat-was-literally-flying-indian-woman-recounts-terrifying-ride-after-vietnam-speedboat-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/vietnam-speedboat-accident-the-boat-was-literally-flying-indian-woman-recounts-terrifying-ride-after-vietnam-speedboat-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam Speedboat Accident: &#8216;The boat was literally flying&#8217;: Indian woman recounts terrifying ride after Vietnam speedboat tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-132360471,imgsize-919045,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/woman-recounts-vietnam-speedboat-tragedy.jpg\" alt=\"'The boat was literally flying': Indian woman recounts terrifying ride after Vietnam speedboat tragedy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"0\"\/>The devastating speedboat <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/accident\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">accident<\/a> off Vietnam&#8217;s Phu Quoc Island has left families grieving across India. But as people continue to process the tragedy, another story is making waves online &#8211; this time from a traveller who says she and her family were in the very same waters just hours before the fatal accident.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"5\"\/>Her Instagram post has quickly gone viral, not because it&#8217;s dramatic, but because it&#8217;s deeply unsettling. Reading it feels less like scrolling through social media and more like hearing someone replay a nightmare they narrowly escaped.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;We came back shaken&#8221;<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>The woman, Ridhi Chawla, said her family had spent the day island-hopping around Phu Quoc, visiting many of the same spots linked to the accident.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/>Like hundreds of tourists do every day, they travelled by the Hon Thom Cable Car before boarding a speedboat to continue their island tour.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>At first, nothing seemed unusual. The skies were clear, there was no rain and the weather looked pleasant enough. But the sea, she said, told a different story.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>A certified scuba diver herself, Ridhi noticed the currents were much stronger than they appeared from the shore. Even then, she admitted she didn&#8217;t think they were dangerous enough to stop the trip altogether.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>It wasn&#8217;t until the return journey that things took a frightening turn.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;The boat was literally flying&#8221;<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>According to Ridhi, the ride back became increasingly rough as the speedboat slammed into powerful waves.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/> <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>She described passengers being jolted from their seats as the boat repeatedly bounced off the water before crashing back down again. Waves kept splashing inside, and every few minutes, the ride became more difficult to handle.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Ironically, she said some people on board laughed through the chaos, treating it like an adventure because they had no idea another speedboat had already met with disaster nearby.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>She also claimed the tour operator never informed passengers about the tragedy.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Questions over safety<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>Alongside her account of the rough sea conditions, Ridhi also raised concerns about basic safety practices during the trip.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>She said her own family wore life jackets throughout the ride, but many other passengers didn&#8217;t. According to her, no one from the tour company checked whether everyone had put them on properly or asked those without jackets to wear one.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>She further claimed that even members of the crew, including the guide and the boat driver, weren&#8217;t wearing life jackets.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>Her post has reignited conversations online about whether safety rules are being followed consistently on tourist boat rides, especially during unpredictable sea conditions.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>A claim about the cable car<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>One part of Ridhi&#8217;s post caught particular attention.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"51\"\/>She said her family had been told that the Hon Thom Cable Car could only be used for the onward journey, making a speedboat ride back seem like the only option.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/>Later, after looking into it herself, she claimed the cable car also operates in the reverse direction. She suggested that some operators may prefer tourists to return by boat because it saves time, though this claim has not been independently verified.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"56\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Fifteen Indian tourists lost their lives<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"58\"\/>The accident took place on Saturday near Hon May Rut Ngoai, close to Phu Quoc Island.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"60\"\/>The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists along with four Vietnamese crew members when it overturned in rough waters.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"63\"\/>Fifteen Indian tourists died in the accident, while 17 others were rescued.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"65\"\/>According to the Indian Embassy, most of the survivors have since been discharged from hospital and are travelling back to India. One person remains hospitalised in critical condition.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Social media responds with shock<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"69\"\/>Ridhi&#8217;s post quickly filled with comments from people who had visited the same islands or experienced similarly rough boat rides elsewhere.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"71\"\/>Some travellers said they had also encountered unexpectedly violent sea conditions around Phu Quoc and were grateful their journeys ended safely.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"74\"\/>Others shared stories from destinations such as Thailand&#8217;s Phi Phi Islands, recalling moments when their boats came dangerously close to capsizing.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"76\"\/>There was also debate over the role of life jackets. While many agreed they should always be worn, a few users pointed out that in certain situations\u2014particularly if a boat flips completely upside down &#8211; escaping can become more complicated. Those comments sparked discussions about emergency preparedness and passenger awareness rather than simply relying on safety equipment alone.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"80\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>&#8220;No holiday is worth risking your life&#8221;<br \/><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"82\"\/>Ending her post, Ridhi said she and her family returned home with immense gratitude but couldn&#8217;t stop thinking about those who never made it back.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"84\"\/>She urged travellers not to ignore life jackets, even if no one asks them to wear one, and appealed to tour operators to treat safety as a priority rather than a formality.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"86\"\/>Her message has resonated with thousands online, serving as a sobering reminder that what begins as a dream holiday can change in a matter of minutes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"88\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/etimes\/trending\/the-boat-was-literally-flying-indian-woman-recounts-terrifying-ride-after-vietnam-speedboat-tragedy\/articleshow\/132360345.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The devastating speedboat accident off Vietnam&#8217;s Phu Quoc Island has left families grieving across India. But as people continue to process the tragedy, another story is making waves online &#8211; this time from a traveller who says she and her family were in the very same waters just hours before the fatal accident.Her Instagram post [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}