A man and his two sons die in a fire which they set to hunt for bamboo rats in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on May 1. Photo by Tienphong.
Reports from local authorities said that the incident occurred at the foot of a mountain in Nam Po District on Wednesday morning when the 54-year-old man and his two sons aged 15 and 13 tried to light fires at a hole in a ravine to catch bamboo rats.
As the fires rapidly spread, the man and his sons ran into the ravine and were unable to escape. By the time some local people noticed the incident, the three had already died.
In the neighbouring province of Lai Chau, a couple also died on Tuesday afternoon after lighting fires to clear stubble, weeds and waste at their farms before sowing a new crop.
The northwestern region has faced prolonged droughts due to hot dry weather and several forest fires have been reported over the past month.