Authorities in Dak Lak Province have mobilised hundreds of rescuers and two drones equipped with thermal sensors in an intensive search for a 15-year-old boy with an intellectual disability who has been missing in a forest for five days.
Search teams worked through the night to look for the missing teenager in the forest (Photo: Uy Nguyen).
Huynh Tan Linh, vice chairman of the Hoa Son Commune People's Committee, said on July 22 that despite five days of searching, authorities and local residents had not yet located the teenager, who disappeared in a forested area on the afternoon of July 17.
The boy, who lives in Village 8, Hoa Son Commune, went missing after wandering into woodland bordering farmland.
According to Linh, hundreds of people, including police officers, military personnel, local officials and volunteers, have been divided into multiple teams to comb the forest, cross streams and search every accessible area.
After nightfall, search teams continue the operation using torches and flashlights as they move through the dense forest in the hope of finding the boy safely.
To expand the search area, local authorities have deployed two drones equipped with thermal imaging sensors, which have been operating continuously day and night to scan remote forests, hillsides, streams and other difficult terrain.
Despite the extensive operation, no trace of the missing teenager has been found.
A sensor-equipped drone is being used to support the search effort (Photo: Still image from clip).
Authorities said the boy, who has an intellectual disability, became lost near farmland adjacent to the forest at around 5 pm on July 17, after which all contact with him was lost.
The Hoa Son Commune People's Committee has instructed the commune police to review footage from public security cameras as well as surveillance systems installed at homes and businesses. Investigators are also collecting images, phone records, messages and other relevant information to support the ongoing search.