The bodies of all 16 who died in the horrific tourist boat tragedy on the Saigon River last Friday have been recovered when divers found the body of a nine-year-old boy on May 22nd.

The body was found at 5 am in the engine room of Din Ky tourist vessel, which had been sunken at the bottom of the river for 3 days and began to decompose.

The body was taken to the morgue of a hospital in Thuan An district, Binh Duong province , then was sent to his home for burial.

The name of the boy, Pham Xuan Khanh, was the son of Phan Thi Huong and Phan Xuan Long, 35, of Ha Tinh province.

The salvage of the touring boat was yet to be completed by this morning due to flood tide. As a result of a hard clash, the bottom of the ship was badly damaged and it is difficult to bring the sunken ship to the water surface.

After the accident, HCM City Department of Transport decided to inspect all restaurant ships. The inspect will begin next month. Any vessel failing to meet waterway safety regulations would have to immediately suspend operations, the department said.

There are nearly 10 restaurant-style ships sailing on the Saigon River, the Department added.

According to Le Xuan Thanh, head of the Military Command of Tuan An District, Binh Duong Province, the Binh Duong police are continuing with their investigations.

Owners of cruise ship arrested after fatal accident

The southern province of Binh Duong’s police have arrested 3 people in charged of Din Ky Cruise Ship that sunk on the Saigon River killing 16 passengers last Friday.

The arrested people are Le Van Duc, 28, pilot of the ship; Le Van Quang, manager of the ship; and Dinh Van Quan, manager of Din Ky Cruise Ship Restaurant.

The police charged them with “violating waterway traffic regulations causing serious consequences.”

Earlier, about 7:00 pm May 20, the two-storey cruise ship was capsized and sunk with 32 guests on board to attend a child’s birthday party.

The accident occurred after the ship had traveled 100 meters from the quay and then faced a heavy rain and whirlwind.

Half of the passengers were killed. The party was held by Quach Luong Tai, a businessman, to celebrate the birthday of his 3-year-old son Quach Hong Dat. Tai survived while all of his family died.

Phan Van Chuc, Director of the Binh Duong Province Hydrometeorology Center, said the cause might have been that all of the windows on the ship were closed during the whirlwind, which might have increased the pressure of the winds on the ship’s body.

The ship also seemed to move ahead despite the rain, which was a dangerous decision, Chuc said.

Phan Van Duy, director of the Inland Waterway Authority for Zone III, said another cause might have be the pilot’s poor handling of the situation.

Relevant agencies said the ship shouldn’t have been easily overturned because it was designed to carry 72 passengers.

The police also found the ship’s registration certificate had expired on January 28, 2011 and the quay where the ship departed is yet to be licensed and had once been fined for operating without a license.

Source: SGGP/Tuoi Tre