Two schoolgirls in central QuangTri Province drowned on Monday while playing on a local dyke, which was inundated under rainwater.

Children were playing in a lagoon in Hue. 

Phạm Thị Thanh Phương and Trần Thị Quỳnh Giang, two Grade 7 students at Triệu Thành Commune’s secondary school in the province’s Triệu Phong District, were found dead on Monday afternoon in the Nam Thạch Hãn canal.

Phương and Giang were playing on the dyke after classes when they slipped and fell into the water. The others called for help, however it took some time for help to arrive as the dyke was at a considerable distance from the nearby residential area.

Trần Thế Nhân, the commune’s chairman, said people living nearby rushed to the site in an attempt to rescue the two girls, however, they were already dead by the time they reached.

Nhân said the cause of death was clear, therefore local authorities allowed the victims’ families to take their bodies’ home for funerals.

Cases of children repeatedly drowning have confounded authorities of related ministries and localities around the country for years. The Ministry of Education and Training has increased swimming training at schools, but their attempt is yet to be effective at schools in the countryside.

Policy makers have also suggested creating more playgrounds to prevent children from playing at risky areas. — VNS