Adventure tour operator prosecuted for tourists deaths

Police in Lam Dong Province said that they have just prosecuted the director of the Giac Mo Vang Company, Do Tuan, who illegally organised adventure tours to Hang Cop Waterfall in Dalat City which killed two people.

Police in the central highlands province of Lam Dong said on May 31 that they have just prosecuted the director of the Giac Mo Vang Company, Do Tuan, who illegally organised adventure tours to Hang Cop Waterfall in Dalat City which killed two people.

Hang Cop Waterfall in Dalat City.

The prosecution was announced three months after the accident which killed a foreign tourist and a Vietnamese guide after investigations showed that the company has violated safety regulations.

Tuan told the police that on February 22, 2017 he received orders from two hotels in Dalat for an adventure tour to the Hang Cop Waterfall the next day. On February 23, Tuan hired To Quoc Khanh and Cao Minh Quang to guide the eight foreign tourists on the tour. Both Khanh and Quang were not company employees and did not have licences.

At the top of the waterfall, Khanh instructed the tourists to hang on the ropes and climb down. Quang was at the foot of the waterfall to help the tourists land.

Four tourists had successfully climbed down the 50-metre- high waterfall before a Polish man, Cwiakala Rafal Witold, 33, was swept down together with Khanh by a strong water current.

The two were then found dead some 400 metres away from the waterfall.

Tuan admitted that his company did not have a licence to operate adventure tours and they also knew about the warning sign saying activities were banned at Hang Cop.

Investigations also showed that at the time of the accident, nearby Thanh Loc Dyke was discharging which contributed to the stronger current at the waterfall.

Hang Cop tourism site, invested by En Viet Joint Stock Company, has been temporarily suspended while awaiting upgrades. Despite the signage banning foreign travellers from adventure games at Hang Cop waterfall, several travel firms have continued to bring tourists to this area.