Despite light rain, the atmosphere that evening was sombre and filled with grief. People of all ages, from the elderly to children, quietly lit candles and incense in front of the neatly arranged altar bowls on the embankment, a symbol of hope that the missing would soon be found.

The tourist boat, named Wonder Sea, capsized during a sudden thunderstorm on July 19, leaving 35 dead and four missing. Only 10 were rescued. The boat was carrying 49 Vietnamese people, including five crew members, on a sightseeing tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular tourist destination in the North.

According to preliminary reports, there were 21 children on board the boat when the incident happened.

No longer a place for tourists and locals to gather and enjoy leisure as it usually is, Hai Dang Pier, beneath Bai Chay Bridge, became a solemn site of prayer for the ill-fated victims. Many present at the candle lighting ceremony were choked with emotion thinking about the children who had passed away.

After dinner, Nguyen Minh Huong, a resident of Quang Ninh, brought her two sons to the Hai Dang Pier area to pray for the four still-missing victims, hoping they would soon be found.

“My heart is broken thinking about the children who had lost their lives, because many of them were my sons’ age. I pray their souls find peace, and that their families have the strength to heal from this unbearable loss,” Huong told dantri.com.vn.

Meanwhile, Bui Minh Tuan, a local resident living and working in Ha Long City, shared, “I came here to light a stick of incense, hoping that the authorities will soon find those still missing, so their families can find some peace of mind.”

Though it rained hard at night, the relatives of the missing remained at Hai Dang Pier, holding on in the hope that their loved ones would soon return.

Authorities have so far identified 31 of the victims. Four people remain missing, and search operations are continuing urgently and on a wide scale, ahead of the expected landfall of typhoon Wipha, forecast to hit on the morning of July 22.

Ha Long boat capsizing: 35 confirmed dead, 10 rescued as sunken vessel recovered

VOV.VN - In the latest update on the capsizing of the QN-7105 tourist boat in Ha Long Bay, northern Quang Ninh province, rescue teams have found 35 bodies and rescued 10 survivors, while the vessel has been successfully raised to the surface and four people remain missing.