Viet Nam temporarily suspends helicopter tours following deadly crash near Ha Long Bay

Head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thang confirmed this information on Thursday.

A Bell-505 helicopter coded VN-8650, owned by the Northern Viet Nam Helicopter Company under the Viet Nam Helicopter Corporation, carrying four Vietnamese tourists took off at 4:56pm for a sightseeing tour of Ha Long Bay from above and lost contact at 5:15pm on April 5.

Right after the helicopter lost contact, the Northern Viet Nam Helicopter Company immediately coordinated with the local border guard and military forces to urgently deploy search and rescue operations.

So far, the forces reported that they have recovered four bodies and some debris believed to be from the helicopter at the edge of the shore.

The Hon Gai Border Gate's Border Guard Station in Quang Ninh said the unit was also working with relevant agencies to undertake search and rescue activities for the helicopter crash in the territorial waters between Quang Ninh province's Ha Long Bay and Hai Phong city's Lan Ha Ba

The Northern Viet Nam Helicopter Company offers aerial helicopter tours in Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Vung Tau, Mai Chau, Mu Cang Chai and Dien Bien.

A helicopter tour to watch Ha Long Bay from above is one of most luxurious travel experiences in Viet Nam./.