It was supposed to be just another Thursday in Laos, where Anthonin's father was born.
Instead, the 30-year-old French citizen found himself among more than 140 people, mostly tourists, on a ferry that capsized in the Mekong River. All but three are thought to have made it to safety.
Videos online show a scene of chaos - people screaming for help, children crying and passengers scrambling to get their belongings.
Anthonin, who declined to give his full name, recalls seeing a mother and her two children on board the ferry - but they were nowhere to be seen on the rescue boat.
On Monday, Lao media reported that the body of a woman, named Pany Her, had been retrieved from the river. Rescuers then found the body of a one-year-old, who they believe was one of her children. Efforts to find a second child are continuing.
'Only 15 lifejackets'
The boat was making its way last Thursday from the riverside town of Huay Xay to the historic city of Luang Prabang in northern Laos, a common route along the Mekong - and popular with visitors to the country.
There were 118 tourists and 29 locals, including four crew, on board the boat when it struck underwater rocks near the Tam Ting (Pak Ou) caves, according to an official report. Within minutes, the ferry began to sink.
The [crew] were just totally unprepared for that. There was a lot of confusion... it happened really, really fast, Anthonin said.
What was puzzling and alarming is that there were very few life jackets, around like, 15 life jackets maximum... [it] was really bad.
As the boat continued to capsize, passengers shouted to a passing boat for help, but it did not stop - possibly because it was relatively small.
The second one, however, did stop and take them in. According to British tourist Bradley Cook, another passenger on board, that briefly made it worse as people shifted to one side of the ferry, causing water to fill up the hull even quicker.
Some people managed to climb over to the ferry, while others swam for it, hung onto the rails and got pulled up by others. Both Anthonin and Mr Cook were among those rescued.
But others were less fortunate. Anthonin says he was helping some other passengers retrieve their luggage at the back of the sinking ferry when he saw the Lao mother and her two children.
However, when he was on the rescue ferry, he realised they weren't there. Some people were crying, panicking. It was a mess, he said. [But] I didn't fear for my life... I was more affected by the three missing people.
Lao media later reported that the body of the Lao woman Pany Her and a one-year-old child were found, separately, near Luang Prabang.
Another passenger, Gabrielius Baranovičius, 19, told the BBC that he and his friend did not panic at first. We were just joking around, he said, adding that his attitude quickly changed when he realised they were sinking.
After getting on the rescue boat, Mr Baranovičius filmed the scene but then turned off the camera to help others in the water.
Tens of thousands of tourists use slow boat and speedboat services every year along the 300km route connecting Huay Xay, Pak Beng and Luang Prabang.
For Mr Cook, the experience was terrifying and it made him want to get out of Luang Prabang, even though everyone's really friendly here.
This isn't the first incident of this nature in Laos. In September 2023, another passenger boat capsized in the Mekong, resulting in three deaths.
