Alarm sounds again for ‘Death Lake’ near Ho Chi Minh City college village

Thanks to its beautiful landscape and fresh atmosphere, the Ho Da (Stone Lake) in Di An District in the southern province of Binh Duong attracts many people every day, especially at the weekend.  

Most of the visitors are students from the nearby ‘University Village,’ a complex of campuses of many colleges under the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, one of the country's leading institutes of higher learning.

However, many people have died in the lake for various reasons, earning it the infamous nickname of ‘Death Lake.’

An infamous record

In the 1990s, the area of the lake was a site for stone mining.

After the excavation, the land was left with many gigantic openings. Underground and rain water have gradually filled them up and created five adjacent lakes.

The five lakes cover a large area of 100 hectares, the largest of which has an area of 30 hectares and the deepest is recorded to be nearly 100m.

According to the most recent report by the Urban Development and Management Center of the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City, there have been 24 dead people in Stone Lake since 2011.

The most recent case was on Thursday this week, when a male body in its heavily decomposed state was found floating in the lake.

The victim was assumed to be N.H.T., a student of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Information Technology, hailing from the southern province of Dong Nai, who had been reported missing from his dormitory for a few days earlier.

In the afternoon of October 31, a 19-year-old man drowned while swimming with four friends in the lake.

Nguyen Van Dung, a local living near the lake, said the most terrifying case happened a few years ago when four young women were found dead.

“It was in weekend and four young female workers were walking around the lake and taking photos when one of them slipped and fell into the lake,” Dung recalled.

“The terrified workers then tried to save their friend but also fell down, and were all later found dead drowning.”

Most of the people who come to visit the ‘death lake’ are students of the ‘university village’ and workers of nearby industrial zones.

Among the 24 deaths, there are also suicide cases besides accidents, which were caused by numerous reasons.

One is the stony and dangerous terrain surrounding the lake, making any careless visitors easily slip into the deep water. Another reason is the cold water in the lake itself, which can easily cause any casual swimmers fatigued and drowned.

‘Death Lake’ to be fenced off

Currently, most of the makeshift fences around the lakes are deteriorating due to time or intentionally destroyed by visitors.

There are many new paths formed due to a high number of people coming to the area. People even set up a wooden plank to cross a ditch surrounding one of the lakes.

Local authorities have erected a warning sign stating “Many people have died in the lake. No climbing onto the cliffs. No Swimming”, but the sign seems to be largely ignored.

Tran Viet Thang, deputy director of the Urban Development and Management Center, said his agency has cooperated with local authorities to implement many preventive measures including propaganda and having guards patrol the area.

“There is no fine or punishment set for people who enter the lake’s area, so we can only give warnings to the trespassers,” Thang added.

For the past few days, local authorities and relevant agencies have teamed up to carry out a new plan, aimed to replace the old and run-down fences by new ones.

Concrete poles with barbed wire are being erected along the perimeter of the lake, preventing people from accessing the dangerous areas.

“In the long run, a concrete wall of two-meter height will be erected to fence off the lake,” the deputy director said.

According to the new plan, more programs will be implemented to educate locals and students, especially freshmen, about the lake’s dangers.

With luck, the new initiative will help rid the lake of its fearful nickname.

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