By noon on June 5, the Danang City People's Committee hosted a press conference on the shipwreck on the Han River on the night of June 4. By this time, rescuers determined 56 people on board, including 53 passengers (4 Malaysians) and three crew members. Three others remain unaccounted for, including two children.
Da Nang People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho said the initial investigation results showed that the ship owner violated regulations on transportation of passengers and the ship was overloaded.
 |
| The incident happened at around 8:25 pm when the Thao Van 2 cruise ship suddenly turned over at a river section in front of the Novotel Hotel in the city downtown. |
 |
| The number of people on board could be 46 instead of 38 as reported by the ship owner previously, Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy chairman of the Danang People's Committee said. |
 |
| By 2 am June 4, 43 people, including four Malaysian tourists, were rescued and rushed to hospitals in the city. |
 |
| Three passengers - two children from the northern province of Thai Nguyen, and a man from the central province of Binh Dinh are still missing. |
 |
|
Four of the survivors, including a Malaysian couple, are in critical condition. A survivor, who wanted to remain unnamed, said the ship turned over around 15 minutes into the cruise and no emergency call was made.
|
 |
|
Witnesses said they saw the ship turning over and sinking without colliding with any boat or floating object. Do Thi Huong, one of the survivors, said the passengers were not told to wear life jackets.
|
 |
| "The ship has movable chairs just like at a cafe. The ship tilted aside when too many people sat on one side. They were terrified and ran to the other side, making the ship capsize," she said. |
 |
|
Local authorities have mobilized around 200 rescuers to search for the missing people. By 11 p.m on June 4, the ship was retrieved but there was no person inside. Rescuers assumed that there may be other victims being washed down the river.
|
 |
| They also found that the ship had been modified from a fishing boat and did not register to carry tourists. |
 |
| In 2014, the Thao Van 2 sank when carrying 10 tourists on the Han River. Luckily, all of them were rescued. |
Danang Pediatric and Gynecology Hospital Director Nguyen Son said the hospital has admitted 11 victims, including 2 with serious respiratory failure.
The Danang General Hospital has received 18 victims, including 9 children who were taken to the pediatric hospital.
The same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the settlement of consequences, urging Danang city to step up the search for the missing tourists and support the victims' families.
