The boat, operated by Ocean Pearl Island Company, was carrying 32 Indian tourists along with a flight attendant and four crew members when it malfunctioned and capsized near Hon May Rut Ngoai island around 1 pm local time, according to Vietnamese outlet VnExpress, which cited authorities from the Phu Quoc Special Economic Zone. Nearby tourist boats moved in to help once the vessel got into distress, according to the same report.

The An Thoi Port Border Guard Station said the dead included two women and 13 men. The 21 people rescued were taken to medical facilities for emergency treatment; their conditions haven't been detailed publicly.

The Indian Embassy in Hanoi confirmed the incident in a post on X, saying a boat carrying several Indian tourists had capsized near Phu Quoc and that exact details were still being established as search and rescue operations continued. The embassy said it had set up control rooms to coordinate the response.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the tragedy on X shortly after, writing that he was "extremely saddened to learn about the tragic news" and offering condolences to the families who lost loved ones, along with prayers for the injured survivors' recovery. He said the Indian Embassy and Consulate were providing all possible assistance and that officials were in close contact with Vietnamese authorities. Modi is currently returning to India after wrapping up a three-nation tour covering Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

As of the last update, there had been no official confirmation of the death toll or victims' identities from the Indian government directly — figures so far have come from local Vietnamese authorities and media. Further details on the cause of the malfunction, and on the identities and home states of those killed, are still awaited.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam's largest island and a fast-growing tourist destination in the Gulf of Thailand, has seen a steady rise in Indian visitor numbers in recent years as direct flight connectivity and holiday packages to Southeast Asia have expanded. The scale of Saturday's incident is likely to raise fresh questions about safety standards for tourist boat operators in the region, though no official assessment of what went wrong has been released yet.

The Ministry of External Affairs has not issued a separate statement beyond the embassy's post as of this writing.