On the morning of 16/5, after completing their year-end exams, a group of students from Nui La hamlet, Ngoc Lam village, who attended Hoa My Tay Primary School and Tay Son Secondary School, went to Banh Lai river to swim.

While swimming, all four were swept away by the current. As the area was deserted, residents who discovered the incident and raised the alarm were unable to rescue them in time.

The area where the students drowned in Hoa My commune. *Photo: Minh Khue*

Local authorities, police, rescue forces, and residents organized a search for many hours. By over 19:00, the bodies of three students were found, while one remained missing.

The students involved in the incident were: Nguyen Anh Hao (9), Nguyen Bao Phuc (11), Nguyen Nhat Bao (14), and Nguyen Gia Bao (11). Nhat Bao and Gia Bao were siblings, and all the children came from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Streams from the Deo Ca mountain pass form the confluence of the Banh Lai river, which is known as the Ban Thach river when it flows towards the East Sea. The river has sections deeper than 2 meters.

According to statistics, nearly 2,000 Vietnamese children die from drowning each year, placing the country among those with the highest drowning mortality rates in the Western Pacific region.

Bui Toan