Two Nghe An girls crossed the forest to escape from the forced gold mine in Quang Nam.

(Baonghean.vn) - Unable to bear the hard labor and beatings in Quang Nam, two child gold miners from Nghe An trekked through the forest for hours to find the police station to call for help.

On the afternoon of April 26, Nam Giang District Police (Quang Nam) handed over two children: Mong Thi Khat (16 years old) and Lo Thi Xi (15 years old), both residing in Bac Ly Commune, Ky Son District (Nghe An) to Phuoc Son District Police to clarify the case of these two children being beaten and forced into hard labor by the gold mine owner.

Xi and Khat at the police station.

At the police station, the two Khmu ethnic minority girls said that two months ago, a woman introduced them to work here. Because they were promised high salaries, they then followed this woman to Quang Nam to work as gold miners.

"These two girls were then taken to Mr. Ngo Van Quang's (Quang Bop) gold mine in Phuoc Son district, but no one knew which commune it was in. They said they were forced to do hard labor and were often beaten and tortured," said Nam Giang district police.

According to the testimony of the two girls, there were more than 20 children aged 14 to 16 working hard at the gold mine. Xi and Khat could not stand the beatings and working long hours a day, so at around 3pm on April 25, they decided to run away.

After many hours of walking through the forest, the two found the Ho Chi Minh trail. A bus then found them walking in the middle of a deserted road and let them in. At 9 p.m., the two went to the Nam Giang District Police Station to call for help.

Lieutenant Colonel Ha The Xuyen - Deputy Chief of Nam Giang District Police (Quang Nam) said that the children came to the headquarters hungry and had no money. The unit immediately took them to eat, bathe and rest before taking their statements.

The case is being further investigated by the police.

Hung Tien