Paying it forward: Vietnamese man who survived 13 hours adrift at sea forms free rescue team

Tung, founder of the Tung Time rescue team, is among the volunteers assisting in the search for victims of a recent tragedy in which a 32-year-old father jumped off the Ben Thuy Bridge into the Lam River with his two daughters, aged four and five, on October 13.

The bridge connects Nghe An with Ha Tinh Province.

Three months earlier, Tung and his six-year-old daughter were swept far offshore while paddleboarding at a beach in Ha Tinh.

“We clung to the paddleboard all night in the cold, terrified and exhausted. I thought we would die,” he recalled during a conversation with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday.

After drifting for nearly 13 hours, they were rescued by a passing cargo ship.

“Those who saved us gave us life again,” Tung said.

“I made a promise that day. If I survived, I would do something meaningful to help others in danger.”

Together with Tran Thi Kim Dung, a local philanthropist, Tung raised VND50 million (US$1,900) to buy an inflatable rescue boat and rescue equipment.

He recruited 10 friends from different professions, all driven by the same mission: “To give is to live. Everything will pass, only kindness remains.”

By day, Tung sells coffee, and by night, he drives to earn money for the team’s operations.

“Having faced death, I know how helpless it feels when no one hears your cries for help,” he said.

“That’s why whenever someone needs us — day or night — we go.”

In less than a month since its founding, the Tung Time rescue team has joined rescue efforts in flood-hit areas after storm Bualoi, the 10th storm to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year, and assisted in multiple search operations across Ha Tinh and Nghe An.

Recalling the October 13 tragedy on the Lam River, Tung said, “When we saw the mother and maternal grandmother [of the two baby girls] collapsing in grief on the riverbank, our hearts broke. We rushed there hoping for a miracle, but…” he trailed off.

Tung and his team provide all services free of charge, driven by empathy and a sense of shared humanity.

“Everything will pass, but kindness must remain,” he said.

His story has inspired thousands online.

“He acts out of gratitude and the deep wish that no one else will endure the terror he and his daughter once faced. A beautiful act of humanity,” wrote one reader named Thu Trang.

Phuong Nga, another reader, shared that she was touched by Tung and his team’s stories, expressing her hope that such acts of kindness would be multiplied and widespread.