6th grade student in Nghe An drowned while bathing in the river with friends

The victim was Nguyen Van T. (born 2006), a 6th grade student at Dung Hop Secondary School, residing in Hamlet 2, Nghia Hop Commune, Tan Ky District.

According to local residents, at around 1 p.m. on April 10, T. was at home when a classmate from another neighborhood came to invite him to extra classes (because there were no regular classes on Tuesday afternoons). When they arrived at Nghia Dung commune, the two children invited two more friends from the same school to go swimming in the Con River flowing through Nghia Dung commune.

Because they were afraid of being discovered by adults, the four children decided to swim in a place that was out of sight, with a dense cornfield. At 3 p.m., while swimming, T. swam to an area where sand and gravel were being mined and completely drowned.

Witnessing their friend drowning, the three children were so scared that they discussed keeping the matter a secret.

The river section where the incident occurred. Photo: Nguyen Tran.

At around 5:30 p.m., when T. did not return from school, his father ran over to question his friends. After a while of denying, T.'s friends told him the painful truth.

At this time, the authorities and people of Nghia Hop commune mobilized forces to salvage the body. On the shore, Tu's motorbike and sandals were still intact. After a few hours of searching, at 7:10 p.m. the same day, T.'s body was found.

Currently, the family has held a funeral for T. according to local customs.

Nguyen Tran