2 Vietnamese students die in ferry accident, 27 others hospitalized after bee attack

27 students hospitalized after bee stings

Twenty-seven students from Hai Lang Middle School in Hai Lang Commune were hospitalized after a swarm of bees attacked them when a group of sixth-graders threw rocks at a beehive in a tree in the schoolyard on Wednesday afternoon.

A leader of Trieu Hai General Hospital, where the students were receiving treatment, said that the students were rushed to the hospital at around 2:00 pm the same day.

“All of them are currently in relatively stable condition,” the hospital representative said.

“Only a few have shown Grade 1 anaphylactic reactions.”

Nguyen Duc Phong, chairman of the commune’s administration, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper that the incident occurred shortly before afternoon classes began.

A group of sixth-graders who arrived early spotted a honeybee hive in a mahogany tree.

They threw rocks at the hive, provoking the swarm to descend and attack students playing in the yard.

The large number of bees left the students with multiple stings.

Some were stung more than 10 times.

The hospital said the students needed to be monitored for 24 to 48 hours to guard against delayed reactions.

Their discharge times would depend on their individual conditions.

2 students die after makeshift ferry capsizes in Can Tho

Two 12th-grade students died after a homemade ferry carrying eight students capsized while they were crossing a canal in Vi Tan Ward, Can Tho City on Tuesday, Phan Vinh Loc, secretary of the ward’s Party Committee, confirmed on Wednesday.

At around 2:00 pm on Tuesday, ward police received a report from residents about the ferry capsizing.

The eight students, all from Vi Thanh High School, were visiting the home of a classmate identified as L.T.N.H. to prepare gifts for a Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20) event.

As the classmate’s house had no road access, the group had to cross the canal on a homemade ferry assembled from four plastic drums.

After leaving their motorbikes by the roadside, the students boarded the ferry.

They reportedly lost their balance when they all stood on one side, causing the watercraft to tilt and overturn and trapping them beneath it.

Six students managed to escape and swim to the bank.

Local residents then raised the alarm and organized a rescue.

One student, identified as Q.P.N.D., was taken to Hau Giang General Hospital for emergency treatment but died at around 2:00 am on Wednesday.

Another student, H.Q.V., disappeared underwater.

Residents searched for about 30 minutes before recovering the student’s body approximately 20 meters from the accident site.

An initial investigation found that the ferry had been installed by a woman identified as N.T.Ph. to travel back and forth across the canal.

She has since moved elsewhere, leaving the ferry for local households to use for their daily crossings.