Police and local authorities in Quang Binh Province are trying to salvage valuable sua wood, which was found buried in a stream there.
Hundreds flocked to Trooc stream on February 25 after rumours spread of a sua tree, worth billions of VND, was under the water. A resident said some people got away with 20kg of wood that day, and took 20kg the next.
Authorities promised to compensate Thoi, the individual who found the tree, along with farmers whose land was damaged. However, they were unable to salvage the tree after hours of work on yesterday. Agencies in Bo Trach District sent out 200 officials to guard the stream from the crowds of people waiting in hopes of taking wood away.
According to authorities, they will pay Thoi 30% of the value of the tree after auction. One trader has offered to pay Thoi VND900 million now (USD43,000) in exchange for his 30% later.
Authorities brought more machines the next day to collect the tree, but they were unsuccessful. The tree is apparently stuck between rocks, and work crews broke two chains trying to bring the tree up. Nguyen Van Duan, head of Forest Protection Department in Quang Binh Province said, "At around 2am, 30 people tried to break in. They wanted to dive into the river and take pieces of wood. But they were quickly caught."
While the salvage process is ongoing, thousands of people continue to surround the area waiting for a chance to take what they can.
Diving for wood
Local authorities try to salvage the tree
Decaying tree
Loading pieces of tree onto a truck
Thousands of people surround the area
