Vietnam officials dispatched a naval ship Thursday to rescue roughly 1,500 stranded tourists from Co To Island, Tuoitrenews.vn reported.
The vacationers have been stranded in the popular tourist destination since last weekend after heavy rainfall forced the suspension of all boat operations.
District chairman Hoang Ba Nam said the ship, which can accommodate anywhere from 300 to 500 people at a time, would make four or five trips. A roundtrip between the mainland and Co To Island takes approximately five hours to complete, per Tuoitrenews.vn.
With rescue efforts expected to last into Friday, island official Nguyen Cong Hung said tourists unable to board the naval vessel before then would not have to pay for unexpected accommodation costs.
"Hotels and other lodging facilities on Co To have cut, or even waived, room rates for the stranded tourists," reported Tuoitrenews.vn.
While it's not uncommon for tourists to stay on the island for an extended period, food has been limited as a result of the disrupted boat transportation this past week.
Fortunately, power and other resources on Co To Island have not been impacted.
So far, more than a dozen deaths in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province have been attributed to flooding resulting from the heavy rainfall, which is expected to continue through the weekend.
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