Tourists jump from Vietnamese cruise ship as it bursts into flames

A cruise ship caught fire in Vietnam on Friday forcing tourists to jump from the wooden vessel.

The Aphrodite Cruises ship was carrying more than 40 passengers, including holidaymakers from Australia, France, UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Korea, India and Taiwan.

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It caught fire as it approached a port following a night cruising Ha Long Bay.

Thanh Nien reports that a speedboat was quickly sent to rescue the holidaymakers.

It is believed a gas leak in the kitchen might have caused the fire.

An Australian tourist, who jumped from the ship into the water, told the New Zealand Herald: "I climbed over the front balcony down two decks by just dropping and hoping for the best."

A video posted on YouTube showed the vessel engulfed in flames with smoke pouring out of the upper decks.

Aphrodite Cruises responded to the incident on Facebook and wrote: "There are four people suffer minor injuries including one crew member. More than 40 people on board with 37 foreign tourists who come from Taiwan, France, Switzerland, UK, New Zealand, Korea, and India. 33 passengers were taken back to Hanoi safely.

"Regarding the cause of the incident, Colonel Vu Van Duong (deputy director of fire protection police in Quang Ninh) said that (usually, incident is related to electrical or gas used in the kitchen. It could be due to careless visitor and staff who smoke and ignore fire prevention."