Seven Vietnamese schoolkids drown near Ho Chi Minh City in picnic tragedy
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Seven schoolchildren drowned while swimming in the sea during a picnic near the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, police said yesterday.
The school trip ended in tragedy on Sunday after the children were swept out to sea by strong waves at Can Gio beach, a coastal area on the outskirts of Vietnam’s second-largest city.
“The last bodies were found early on Monday,” a policeman in Can Gio district said. According to the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper, the children, aged 12-14, were part of a group of nearly 100 students attending the school-organised picnic.
“Most of them could swim well,” a teacher who was escorting the picnic group said, according to Tuoi Tre.
“Suddenly, the wave became big, pulling the kids away from the shore. Four of them swam back to ask for help but rescue canoes were not immediately available,” he said.
The students came from Nguyen Binh Khiem Upper Secondary School in neighbouring Binh Duong province.
Drowning is one of the main causes of child deaths in Vietnam.
