Da Nang villagers carry coffin across floodwaters amid heavy rains for burial

On Monday evening, a video posted on Facebook showed a dozen people struggling to transport a coffin through the raging waters of the Nuoc Mai stream in Hamlet 5, Tra Doc Commune.

The footage quickly spread online, drawing widespread sympathy for the hardships faced by mountainous communities during extreme weather.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that evening, Phan Duy Hung, chairman of the commune administration, confirmed the video was authentic.

He said the deceased, identified only as D., had passed away three days earlier.

According to local ethnic minority customs, the deceased are typically buried immediately after death.

However, due to heavy rains and flooding, the family kept the coffin at home for three days.

When the rain eased and water levels receded, villagers carried the coffin across the stream to a forested burial site.

Hung said local authorities had provided support to D.’s family and assisted with the burial.

Recent downpours have triggered landslides and flash floods, forcing the evacuation of 141 households with more than 650 residents and severely disrupting traffic, he added.

A similar incident occurred in Anh Son District, north-central Nghe An Province, on July 22, when family members and local residents carried the coffin of D.T.H., 34, across the swollen Veu stream to a cemetery, three days after her drowning in floodwaters.

H. was one of two victims who lost their lives after being swept away by powerful floodwaters while returning from planting acacia trees for local villagers in a forested area of the province’s Phuc Son Commune.