The body of Major Tran Van Tung, 39, commander of Battalion 3 under Infantry Regiment 568, was found in the Tra Ly River in Hung Yen Province shortly after 6 p.m. on Sept. 13, Colonel Trinh Hong Phong, commander of the Hung Yen Provincial Military Command, said.

Tung was found about 600 meters downstream from where he had entered the river a day earlier in an attempt to save the man.

His body was taken to a hospital, where authorities were completing the necessary procedures before handing it over to his family.

The discovery followed hours of searching by military personnel, police and rescue teams along the Tra Ly River.

Rescuers are continuing to search for D.V.L., 30, a resident of Dong Hung Commune in Hung Yen Province.

Swept away while trying to save a man

At around 9:40 a.m. on Sept. 12, Tung was riding his motorcycle back to his unit after completing an assignment when he reached Bo Bridge over the Tra Ly River.

There, Tung and a local resident, Doan Van Tien, saw L. struggling with his mother. She told them that she suspected her son intended to take his own life.

Tung and Tien approached L., talking to him and trying to persuade him not to harm himself. L. eventually agreed and asked Tung to take him home.

But as Tung went back to get his motorcycle, L. suddenly jumped from the bridge into the river.

Seeing him struggling in the water, Tung immediately removed his military uniform, left his belongings on the riverbank and jumped in to rescue him.

Tung managed to reach and hold onto L., but the river was flowing strongly and both men were swept away.

Authorities launched a major search-and-rescue operation soon afterward, with officials from the Hung Yen Provincial Military Command, Infantry Regiment 568 and relevant local agencies directing the effort.

Nearly 200 personnel join search

On the morning of Sept. 13, nearly 190 officers and personnel from Hung Yen’s armed forces, the Border Guard, provincial police and search-and-rescue teams from Hung Yen, Quang Ninh and Nghe An were mobilized.

Eleven vessels, including ships, motorboats and fishing boats belonging to local fishermen, were deployed to search both banks of the Tra Ly River and areas where the missing men might have been carried by the current.

Search teams were assigned to different sections of the river, concentrating initially around Bo Bridge before expanding downstream to locations where the two men might have drifted.

After hours of searching, Tung’s body was recovered about 600 meters from the point where he had entered the water.

The search for L. is continuing.

Tung, born in 1987, joined the military in September 2005 and served as commander of Battalion 3 under Infantry Regiment 568.

His decision to enter the fast-flowing river in an attempt to save another person reflected the Vietnamese military’s tradition of serving and protecting the public.

Hoai Anh – Bao Khanh