The heartbreaking pain of the families of 3 students who drowned in Nghe An

Nghe An: 3 primary school students tragically drowned

(Baonghean.vn) - The incident happened this afternoon (September 9) in Vinh Son commune, Anh Son district. The three drowning victims were all elementary school students in the commune.

Two days have passed, it seems that the atmosphere of sorrow and mourning is still covering the poor hamlet of Vinh Tien. Perhaps never before has the image of Khe Ngang bridge spanning the small stream on the inter-hamlet road, where3 studentsDrowning haunts local people like this.

According to the people's reflection, Khe Ngang bridge, called a bridge, is actually a spillway designed in the style of "above the bridge, below the culvert". Due to being built a long time ago, the bridge has deteriorated, every time it rains heavily, water from the mountain flows down to flood this section of the bridge, making it impossible for people to cross. Avoid it on rainy days, go on sunny days, although many people cross this section of the bridge, there has not been any heartbreaking, haunting incident like the afternoon of September 9.

Khe Ngang Bridge in Vinh Tien hamlet, Vinh Son commune. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Viet - Head of Vinh Tien Hamlet said that the previous afternoon, Mrs. Bui Thi Kha did not see her grandchild playing at home, so she hurriedly went to look for him. Hearing some people say that at 3 pm, she still saw 3 children playing at the hamlet's cultural house, Mrs. Kha went to the cultural house but did not see her grandchild, only saw 2 bicycles under Khe Ngang bridge, one of which belonged to her grandchild. Thinking something was wrong, Mrs. Kha immediately called for help. People who knew about the incident gathered in large numbers and started searching under the stream.

At this time, the water under Khe Ngang bridge was only up to the chest and stomach, no problem for adults, but too dangerous for children, just one slip and they could be killed.drowningAfter a while of searching and groping, all three children were found one by one at the bottom of the stream. The last child was pulled ashore at 5:15 p.m. They had all died before that.

Three students in Vinh Tien hamlet drowned at Khe Ngang bridge. Photo: Van Trung

On the night of September 9, the coffins were hastily made. At Khe Ngang bridge, where the children drowned, brothers, relatives, neighbors, teachers, etc. held a funeral, in the light of torches and lamps, to send the children to their final resting place. The cries were heartbreaking, the grief was endless. Mr. Nguyen Nhu Viet added: In the midst of grief and hardship, the neighbors came together to take care of the children's funeral, to share, encourage, and visit the families.

It is known that Dang Thanh Ngan (9 years old) and Dang Thanh Nga (6 years old) are sisters in a family of 3 sisters. Their family is near-poor. Mr. Dang Anh Tuan (36 years old) - the children's father, after a traffic accident suffered a fractured skull. Although he has been healed, his health has declined and he can only do light work. All the heavy farm work is shouldered by Ms. Bui Thi Cong, the children's mother. Recently, Ms. Cong has been working as a garment worker in Do Luong, hoping to earn more income to support her husband and children, but unexpectedly disaster struck.

The bodies of the three students were pulled from the riverbank and the funeral took place on the night of September 9. Photo: Van Trung

Less than a hundred meters from the house of Nga and Nga, Dinh Thi Dieu Linh (8 years old) is also in a difficult situation. Linh's parents got married for a short time and then divorced. Linh's mother, Nguyen Thi Quyen, had to leave her child with her grandparents to go to the South to work. Over the past few months, Linh has grown up in the care and protection of her grandparents' family. Mr. Nguyen Huu Hoa, Linh's grandfather, is disabled and had just lost an arm due to a work accident in May 2020.

The family of 3 children live in Khe Truong area, less than 100m from Vinh Tien hamlet Cultural House, so the children often invite each other to come here to play. That afternoon, the children were off school, after playing at the hamlet cultural house, they went down to Khe Ngang bridge and got into an accident. In fact, no one in the hamlet knew exactly when the children drowned, only when Mrs. Bui Thi Kha went to look for her grandchildren did she discover the incident.heartbreaking.

Prof. Dr. Thai Van Thanh - Director of the Department of Education and Training offered incense to express condolences to the victim's family. Photo: Thanh Cuong

This school year, Nga is in class 4B, Nga is in class 1B and Linh is in class 3A, Vinh Son Primary School. Entering the new school year, after a few days of school, the children's way to school has been permanently closed. Sharing about this pain, Mr. Phan Viet Hung - Vice Principal in charge of the school, Vinh Son Primary School said: As soon as we received news that the students in the school had drowned, the school organized teachers to support and help the families search for the victims and arrange the funerals for the children.

In the past, although the school has regularly educated and reminded students about drowning prevention, tragic incidents still occurred. In response to this heartbreaking incident, in addition to calling for donations in the teachers' council to help, share and encourage families whose children were in distress, the school has done ideological work to stabilize the spirit of parents and students in the whole school, avoiding confusion and anxiety.

The sudden passing of three primary school students in Anh Son district is not only a great loss and grief for the families, but also a common pain for the community and society. Entering the new school year is also the time of entering the rainy and flood season, the danger of drowning accidents continues to ring alarm bells to remind everyone.