Heavy fog was blamed for the Vietnam ship collision, leaving three people dead and 18 injured on Friday morning, said official sources on Monday.

 

"The heavy fog reduced the visibility on the sea when the collision happened," said Wu Liancai, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Dongxing.

 

"I remembered it was bad weather with heavy fog that day and I blacked out after a furious hit," said 25-year-old Liang Zhengxing, a injured Chinese tourist from that accident.

 

The bodies of the two Chinese tourists who died in a ship collision in Vietnam were identified to be Yang Yongde from Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province and He Da from ZhanJiang city of south China's Guangdong province. The two victims are both male, confirmed local authorities.

 

The victim's bodies, laid in caskets and accompanied by their relatives, arrived at the Dongxing City of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Sunday afternoon, said Wu Liancai, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Dongxing.

 

The Vietnamese government has offered a compensation of 120,000 yuan (US$15,000) for each victim, among which 10,000 yuan (US$1,250) has already been paid.

 

The collision happened near Mong Cai town of Quang Ninh Province Friday morning when a hydrofoil with 30 people on board, including five crew members. The hydrofoil had set out from the province's Ha Long City when it hit a stationary cargo ship in conditions of poor visibility.

 

Two Chinese and a person from the Republic of Korea were killed in the accident. Eighteen others were injured, including nine severely.

 

The Vietnamese side has compensated 50,000 yuan (US$6,450) to each of the badly injured and 30,000 yuan (US$3,870) to each who was only slightly injured.

 

The injured have been sent back earlier this week and are now in a Chinese hospital.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2007)