Danger zone signs are needed at Pha Lai dam.

(Baonghean.vn) - In the cold of 19 degrees, everyone has to wear two or three warm coats to keep their body heat, but the children in the poor mountainous area of ​​Mon Son Commune, Con Cuong District (Nghe An) still swim and play at the foot of Pha Lai dam, where the "water god" once "swallowed" more than ten lives.

Pha Lai spillway (located on Giang River, Pu Mat National Park) was built to retain water for farming, people's daily activities and tourism. The dam is over 10 meters high, because of the large water flow and steep slope, the water flow here is very strong, pouring down from above, making the riverbed at the foot of the dam quite deep. But whether it is raining or sunny, cold or hot, every day children still swim and play, despite the imminent danger, when the "river god" once swallowed more than ten people with the water.



Swimming in cold water to cast nets, high risk of cramps



Children, casting nets on the dam bank

Present at the spillway when the cold was still 17 degrees, we saw four or five children swimming in the fierce water to cast nets, their bodies were skinny, covered with goosebumps, their lips were dark from the cold. When asked about the dangers of swimming here, Vi Van Dung, a 7th grade student in Mon Son commune, innocently said: "We are used to swimming here, we rarely get cramps, many friends have drowned here, but because they did not know how to swim, they went to deep places, we are good swimmers and we bathe in shallow places to cast nets, so it is not a big deal."

According to the people here, the dam has been built for 10 years, providing irrigation and daily life water for the whole commune, but more than a dozen children have drowned, because the water at the foot of the dam is relatively deep, so many children who went out to bathe or go fishing were drowned. Ms. Dang Thi Huyen, a resident of the commune, said: "One day I was sitting selling goods, when I heard that two brothers in a family drowned at the foot of the dam, I was terrified. I will never let my children go to the dam again, but sometimes they run away with their friends. And there are few games and entertainment here, so the children go to the river at the slightest opportunity."

The dam section is so dangerous but there are no warning signs. I think the local government should soon put up warning signs and prohibit people from swimming and playing at this dangerous dam section.

Sy Thanh