Investigators have made an initial determination that bad weather, strong winds and high waves combined with the captain's complacency to overturn the boat, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Quang Quoc Huy, deputy head of the staff division of the An Giang Province Police, said at a press briefing on Aug. 14.

Hai, 57, was arrested and remanded in pre-trial detention on July 12, accused of violating waterway traffic safety regulations. The crime carries seven to 15 years in prison for offenses that kill three or more people.

Police are still gathering documents and evidence to determine the violations and the responsibility of the individuals and organizations involved.

The boat went over at 1 p.m. on July 11, roughly 400 meters (0.25 mile) after leaving Hon May Rut Ngoai island on the return run to An Thoi Port in the Phu Quoc Special Zone.

Indian tourists rescued after a speedboat capsized off Phu Quoc Island are brought into port on July 11, 2026. Photo by Minh Tam

Hai was at the helm of AG-26751 with 32 Indian tourists, three crew members and a Vietnamese guide aboard. All 36 went into the water.

Nearby tour boats, border guards, police, soldiers and local residents joined the rescue.

21 people were pulled out alive. The 15 who died were 13 men and two women, all Indian tourists.

The worst injured of the survivors reached hospital with severe respiratory failure from near-drowning, shock from multiple injuries, bleeding on the brain and an acute heart attack.

Doctors from Cho Ray Hospital flew to Phu Quoc, reopened his blocked coronary artery and fitted a temporary pacemaker before moving him to Ho Chi Minh City. He recovered and flew home to India with a doctor escorting him.

Phu Quoc is Vietnam's largest island at about 570 sq.km, roughly four-fifths the size of Singapore.