3 children drown while swimming in irrigation pond in Vietnam

The incident occurred at around 10:30 am on Sunday, when five children from the same hamlet in Ea Kly Commune went to a water reservoir used for irrigating coffee plants owned by a local resident identified as V.V.N.

Three children, V.V.T., 7, L.V.N., 8, and L.V.H., 7, entered the pond, while two others, V.V.T., 9, and T.V.T.N., 6, remained on the bank. L.V.N. and L.V.H. are siblings.

Shortly afterward, the three children in the water reportedly slipped and sank.

The two children standing on the shore panicked and ran home to call for help from L.T.E., whose house is about 100 meters from the pond.

Upon receiving the alert, E. and several nearby residents rushed to the scene.

Rescue efforts were immediately launched, and the children were pulled from the water and taken to the Ea Kar Medical Center for emergency treatment.

However, doctors confirmed that all three children had drowned.

The families of the victims requested that no autopsies be conducted and proceeded with burial arrangements in accordance with local customs.

The tragedy follows another drowning incident earlier this month in Dak Lak.

On December 4, a second-grade student in Ea Wer Commune died after playing with a homemade floating toy made from foam, rubber bands, and wooden sticks. 

The toy had gained popularity on short-video platform TikTok, alarming both schools and parents.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, an average of about 1,900 children in Vietnam have died from drowning each year since 2021. 

Drowning remains one of the leading causes of child mortality nationwide.

Vietnam’s child drowning death rate is estimated to be eight times higher than that of high-income countries.

Most drowning incidents occur in community settings (76.6 percent), followed by households (22.4 percent), with very few happening at schools.

Children in rural areas face double the risk compared to those in urban areas, and summer is typically the peak season for such incidents.

Authorities attributed child drownings to multiple factors, including a lack of water safety knowledge and skills, inadequate supervision by adults, unsafe living environments, a lack of warning signs at dangerous locations, and limited local investment in prevention programs.

Experts emphasized that adult negligence and poor safety management remain the most critical issues.

Vietnam has issued several directives on preventing child drowning.

Most recently, on May 10 this year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 61, demanding stronger education, clearer accountability among agencies, schools and families, and heightened safety measures, especially during school holidays.