Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent a commendation letter to teachers at a kindergarten in Phu Yen who risked their lives saving 15 children in a flash flood.
Teacher Vo Thi Thu Suong, headmaster of My Phu 2 Nursery School, said to DTiNews that on December 13 morning as it rained heavily, only 35 children went to school.
The children at My Phu 2 Nursery School rescued safely in flood
Being informed, many parents urgently came to school to pick up 20 children, while the remaining 15 remained with four teachers as their parents were unable to get to the school in time.
By mid-day, the school was seriously submerged under 1.5 metres of water. Despite phoning for help, no one received the phone calls, the four teachers tried to save their pupils by any means, Suong said.
The teachers piled up the tables and put the children on them keep them safe. The higher the flood rose, the more tables were piled. Each teacher had to stand on the tables and hang on to the windows, carrying 3-4 students.
Five-year old Do Khanh Thuong suddenly fell into the water which was more than 1.5 metres deep. Nguyen Thi Hoa, vice headmaster of the school, dived to look for Thuong. Recovering the child, Thuong was put on top of a filing cabinet to be kept safe.
The school's computers and printing machines damaged by the flood
"The water was too high and we had to carry the children, so, we dropped our phones. As a result. we couldn't call for help. We began to fear we’d die. We would have died already without having the filing cabinets in the class," Hoa said.
Rescuers finally found them at 2pm and came to save the teachers and children after a two-hour struggle with the flood.
Chairman of Tuy An District Bui Van An expressed his admiration for the teachers who were courageous and kept calm to protect their pupils.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also sent a letter praising the teachers. In the letter, the government leader said that he was really moved by the teachers' courage.
