Ho Van Lien, 58, and Nguyen Thi Minh Hoa, 54, were found dead after a melaleuca forest fire erupted in Hong Lien village, Ky Van commune, Ha Tinh province. Authorities discovered their bodies around 1 p.m. on 20/6, several meters apart, after hours of fighting the blaze.

The fire began around 9 a.m. that morning when the couple entered the forest in Hong Lien village to burn undergrowth, preparing the land for cultivation. The flames then spread to a neighboring melaleuca forest. Lien and Hoa attempted to extinguish the fire but were unsuccessful.

A source indicated that the victims likely succumbed to a lack of oxygen due to the intense blaze, causing them to faint and hindering their escape. The fire ultimately damaged approximately 5 ha of melaleuca forest.

This incident occurred amid a heatwave gripping Ha Tinh for the past three days, with temperatures consistently between 28 and 38 degrees C. Numerous mountainous regions in the province have received high-level forest fire warnings. This marks the third forest fire recorded in the locality since the start of summer, following two previous small-scale incidents.

Duc Hung