Khanh’s photo of two fishermen struggling to rescue a sinking boat was exciting and filled with foreboding, said the jury.

“My heart was pounding so hard in the midst of the drama and it was my challenge to press the shutter,” Mr Khanh said after receiving the prize.

In the “Free Subject” category, another Vietnamese, Nguyen Thi Thanh Son, snatched the second prize for her work “Ban gia” (An Old Friend), taken in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

Under the theme "At the heart of the image" with two subcategories: “Free Subject” and “Smile, Smile, Smile”, the photo contest drew more than 47,000 entries by 16,000 photographers from 135 countries and territories worldwide, the largest number of entrants to the contest so far.