Ho Van Lang, who became famous after leaving behind his forest lifestyle in Vietnam's central province of Quang Ngai with his father in 2013, has died at 52 after a year struggling with cancer.
Ho Van Lang, who became famous after leaving behind his forest lifestyle in Vietnam's central province of Quang Ngai with his father in 2013, has died at 52.
Lang's younger brother Ho Van Tri told Dantri/Dtinews that Lang died from liver cancer at 7am on September 6.
"Lang died after over a year struggling with liver cancer," the brother said. "He suffered a lot of pains in his last days."
According to reports from local authorities, in 1972, Lang's father, Ho Van Thanh, a 40-year-old soldier, took his three-year-old son into a forest in Quang Ngai Province's Tra Bong District after seeing the tragic death of his wife and two other sons when the US troops bombed his house. The father and son lived in the forest for over 40 years until being found and taken out on August 7, 2013 when the father was seriously ill.
Ho Van Lang left the forest in 2013
Lang was living with his younger brother's family in Tra Bong District after his father died in 2017. They lived on farming work with modest income.
Lang used to do farming work while living with this brother
Dantri/DTiNews recently published a story about Lang being unable to afford treatment for cancer. In June 2021, the newspaper sent VND177 million (USD7,695) as donations from readers to support him.
