Agaram Resident Among 10 Tamil Nadu Tourists Dead in Vietnam Boat Capsize

A resident of Agaram in Chennai was among 10 tourists from Tamil Nadu who lost their lives after a speed boat capsized off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island on Saturday. The tragic accident claimed the lives of 15 Indian tourists in total, prompting immediate intervention from the Tamil Nadu state government to coordinate repatriation efforts.

The victim from Chennai was identified as Santhosh Kumar, a resident of the Agaram locality. The other nine deceased individuals from Tamil Nadu were identified as Balaji Natesan, Alagurajan Sivasamy, and Shaik Abdullah from Trichy; Sridhar Sundararajan from Salem; Senthil Kumar Jayavel from Dharmapuri; Ravisankar Sugumaran from Tiruvannamalai; Vinaya Kumar from Vellore; Muruga Prabhu from Dindigul; and Babu Kuppuswamy from Tiruvallur.

According to reports, the tourists included business owners and agents of a mobile phone company who were on a sponsored tour of Vietnam.

Among those who died was 60-year-old N Sridhar from Salem, a prominent wholesale mobile phone dealer who had travelled to Vietnam with friends on July 8. Sridhar is survived by his wife Jayanthi, his son Karthi, who resides in Australia, and his daughter Harini, who lives in Scotland.

Another victim, Senthil Kumar Jayavel, was a mobile dealer for Lava in the Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts. He also operated an aluminium factory in Kadathur and an RO system agency in Dharmapuri. Senthil Kumar is survived by his 40-year-old wife, Poovizhi, and their seven-year-old daughter, Logasri.

Expressing deep grief over the tragic accident, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay announced emergency measures to assist the victims and their families. The Chief Minister deputed Santosh Hadimani, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for Salem, to immediately travel to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

DIG Santosh Hadimani has been tasked with coordinating directly with the Indian Embassy authorities in Vietnam. His primary responsibilities are to expedite the repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased tourists back to Tamil Nadu and to facilitate medical treatment for the survivors of the boat capsize.