Two separate incidents in Vietnam over the weekend have resulted in the drowning deaths of eight people.

In Hanoi on Sunday, February 7, four students drowned after their boat capsized on a river in Quang Ngai province, in central Vietnam (approximately 130 km from Danang). The boat, which was overcrowded, was carrying 12 high school students who were on a trip after the final class of the semester.

Three girls and one boy drowned and eight others were rescued by bystanders, after the boat was hit by a large wave when crossing the Tra Khuc River. It is not known whether the boat was equipped with lifejackets.

A separate incident in Dong Hoa commune, in Binh Duong province in southern Vietnam, saw four women drown after they slipped off a rock into a lake whilst having their picture taken on Saturday, February 6. The women, who all worked at a Ho Chi Minh City shoe factory, were standing on a rock, three metres from the shore of Stone Lake. Two women fell off and the other two women were pulled under whilst trying to rescue them. Two male co-workers attempted to reach the women but failed.

A local newspaper is reporting that the four women were aged between 20 and 22 and were roommates. The lake, a popular tourist site, has been the site of 30 drowning deaths in recent years, said Huynh Cong Minh, deputy chairman of Dong Hoa commune.

Drowning is the leading killer of children in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese do not know how to swim and these incidents are a sobering reminder of the need for basic survival swimming skills and water safety knowledge.

Amy Peden, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia

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