The chivalry of two restaurant owners
At 4:00 p.m. on March 29, while they were renovating the restaurant, Mr. Bui Ngoc Trinh (50 years old - owner of Tu Trinh restaurant) and Mr. Nguyen Canh Tan (51 years old - owner of Tan Thanh restaurant) in block 1, Thu Thuy ward, Cua Lo town heard a cry for help. Immediately, regardless of the big waves and strong tides, the two men quickly rowed a basket boat 150m from the shore to rescue 5 tourists drifting in the Lan Chau island area.
(Baonghean) -At 4:00 p.m. on March 29, while they were renovating the restaurant, Mr. Bui Ngoc Trinh (50 years old - owner of Tu Trinh restaurant) and Mr. Nguyen Canh Tan (51 years old - owner of Tan Thanh restaurant) in block 1, Thu Thuy ward, Cua Lo town heard a cry for help. Immediately, regardless of the big waves and strong tides, the two men quickly rowed a basket boat 150m from the shore to rescue 5 tourists drifting in the Lan Chau island area.
When they arrived, they saw all 5 people panicking, trampling, struggling, and screaming for help. The two men quickly threw ropes and pulled the 5 people onto the boat. Then, they tried to keep the boat balanced, and at the same time used all their strength to row away from the big waves to ensure safety, and then passed the rocks one by one, bringing the boat to shore. The 5 tourists who had just escaped death were Le Thi Loan (46 years old), Nguyen Thi Dinh (43 years old), Nguyen Thi Phien (40 years old), Nong Van Binh (37 years old), and Luong Van Tuan (27 years old), all residing in Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen province.
The incident happened nearly ten days ago, but thinking back today, Mr. Trinh and Mr. Tan also felt like they were reborn. "When I heard the man running up to call for help, I didn't have time to think about anything, I just wanted to run out to save people so I didn't bring a life buoy. When we got to the sea, the two brothers struggled to row the boat out because of the big waves. The boat was a small boat with a small capacity, never before had a boat carried up to 7 people, if I hadn't been calm and kept my balance at that time, maybe all 7 people would have died by now" - Mr. Trinh recounted.
Mr. Luong Van Tuan gratefully said: “When we were swimming, there were 6 of us but we only had 2 buoys and all 6 of us were swept away by the waves from the 382 hotel area to Lan Chau island. The more we struggled, the further we were pushed. At this time, everyone was exhausted and had cramps. I was so scared that I told Mr. Nguyen Van Hao, who knew how to swim, to grab onto a rock and jump in to call for help. When we reached the shore, Mr. Hao met Mr. Trinh and Mr. Tan.
I saw the two men rowing out and getting washed away by the waves, but in the end they reached the place to save us. After we got to shore, they helped us rest and regain our strength, then hired an electric car to take us back to the hotel. That afternoon, we went to thank them, but they said: “Everyone here is like that, they save people when they see them drowning, not for money or anything. Luckily we saved them, otherwise we would have regretted it.”
These days, Cua Lo Town is eagerly preparing to open the 2013 tourist season. To help tourists feel secure when relaxing and swimming in the summer, in addition to promoting rescue, first aid and drowning relief work by the authorities, the town is also taking care of building the movement "Every Cua Lo resident is an enthusiastic, friendly and hospitable rescuer" to have many role models like Mr. Trinh and Mr. Tan.
Hoang Hai (Cua Lo City Party Committee)
