Hanoi  - A tour boat capsized in a storm in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay, leaving three people dead and one missing, a local official said Friday.

Two of the victims were foreign tourists, while one was Vietnamese, said Dao Xuan Dan, chairman of the Ha Long City People's Committee. The identities and nationalities of the dead tourists have not yet been determined.

The missing man was the group's Vietnamese tour guide, a report in the Vietnamese newspaper Dan Tri said.

"The tour boat encountered a whirlwind and capsized yesterday evening," the paper said. "According to the list, there were 22 people on the boat at the time, including three foreigners."

Eighteen of those on board were plucked from the water by rescue boats. The passengers had been eating dinner on the boat's upper deck when it capsized.

Ha Long Bay is a popular tourist destination for Vietnamese and foreigners, attracting millions of visitors each year. The bay is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the unique craggy limestone islets that jut up from the waters. (dpa)