Four boat passengers were crushed to death by several tons of fruit when their boat capsized, tossing the cargo upon them Wednesday night.

The boat most likely struck a sandbar as it traveled along a shallow estuary in the southern province of Tien Giang, said eyewitnesses and police. The boat’s owner also said a sandbar was the most likely cause of the problem.
The Hoang Long vessel carried 51 people and 30 tons of fruit as it traveled from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre to Ho Chi Minh City. The boat’s capacity was 49 people.
The vessel was following two self-propelled barges and another cargo boat when the driver suddenly lost control, said the boat’s owner Nguyen Thi Duc.
Three passengers from Ben Tre and another from the southern province of Vinh Long were killed.
“Tons of fruit pressed collapsed on the passengers when the boat overturned and they could not escape,” a rescuer said.
The tons of fruit also made it difficult for rescuers to search for the bodies. The last body was found 12 hours after the accident.
As the river was shallow and the boat did not sink completely, many passengers were pulled from the water by locals.
Tien Giang traffic police suspected the boat hit sandbars as the river was rather shallow this season.
The driver fled the scene after the accident but turned up at the local police station Thursday afternoon.
Some passengers said they saw alcohol cans on the boat and thought the driver might have been drunk.
Police are investigating the case.

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