Tourists have been forced to leap for their lives from a burning vessel docked in Vietnam.
The Aphrodite cruise ship was carrying 37 passengers when it caught fire in Ha Long Bay.
The three-storey wooden ship was engulfed in flames forcing passengers to jump in the water.
A Video shows terrified passengers throwing their belonging into the water and people scrambling over the railings.
It is believed an Australian caught the incident on camera and was able to identify two New Zealanders onboard.
Aphrodite Cruises said on Facebook that they are “deeply saddened” by the incident. “Four people suffered minor injuries including one crew member,” they wrote.
“More than 40 people were on board with 37 foreign tourists who come from Taiwan, France, Switzerland, UK, New Zealand, Korea, and India. Thirty three passengers were taken back to Hanoi safely.
“Regarding the cause of the incident, Colonel Vu Van Duong (deputy director of fire protection police in Quang Ninh) said that (usually, incident is related to electrical or gas used in the kitchen. It could be due to careless visitor and staff who smoke and ignore fire prevention.
“Mr Duong said that the wooden ship with many flammable substances, is not equipped with automatic fire-fighting system, so when the fire starts it become very difficult to control.”
