Three children drowned this morning when they fell into a small river, where they were fishing, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Many children play in or around water, as there is a lack of playgrounds for them, leading to a higher incidence of drowning deaths.

Five children, all cousins and part of a family living in the province’s Phu Duong Commune, went fishing in the local Pho Loi river in front of their grandfather’s house. One of them fell into the river, and the other four jumped in to rescue him.

The children were unable to stay afloat. Nguyen Huu Loc, 42, came to assist and saved two of them: Nguyen Minh Tu, 12, and Nguyen Thi Chau Anh, 7.

The fatalities included two siblings, residents of the adjacent Quang Tri province. Before the rescuer Loc had arrived at the scene, scores of women had witnessed the children calling for help but were unable to swim.

Loc said that section of the river was calm but was still some 4-5m deep. “I managed to save two of them before becoming exhausted,” he said.

This case closely follows the deaths of two children on board a riverboat for tourists that sank in Da Nang, alarming the public over the risk of their children drowning. Experts have called for urgent training in swimming and survival skills for children, instead of stressful academic training.

VNS