4 students drown while swimming in river in Vietnam’s Dak Lak

Le Xuan Hieu, vice-chairman of the Hoa My Commune People’s Committee, said the body of the last missing student was found at around 9:00 pm the same day.

Authorities later handed over the bodies of all four victims to their families for funeral arrangements.

At around 9:00 am, four students identified as N.A.H., 9, N.G.B., 11, N.B.P., 11, and N.N.B., 14, all residents of Hoa My Commune, went to swim together in the Banh Lai River.

The children were students at Hoa My Tay Elementary School and Tay Son Middle School.

While swimming, the four students were reportedly swept away and drowned.

Later that afternoon, family members searching for the children discovered their belongings on the riverbank.

Realizing that the students may have been involved in an accident, local residents alerted authorities and rescue teams.

According to Hieu, the incident happened on a day off from school when the children decided to go swimming together.

All four students came from difficult family backgrounds. 

N.A.H. had lost his father, while N.B.P. and N.N.B. were brothers from a disadvantaged household. 

N.G.B.’s family was also facing financial hardship.

Hieu added that immediately after receiving the report, local authorities, police officers, rescue forces, and residents arrived at the scene to search for the victims. 

The area was filled with shock and grief as the victims were all school-aged children.