Speaking to Dantri/Dtinews on Friday morning, Thach Son Commune People's Committee Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, said that the tragic incident occurred at midday on July 20.
"Brothers Hoang Huu Thang, 17 and Hoang Huu Truong, 11, and another teenage boy Tran Hai Dang, 11, went to swim together in the Lam River," the official said. "It was not until late in the afternoon that their families went to look for them after not seeing them return home."
People found their bikes, clothes and sleepers left on the river bank and came to the river to search for them. Rescue forces were sent out and they searched through the night. By 9.30 am on Friday, they found the body of one boy and then at 3.30pm the same day found the bodies of two other boys floating on the river some 4-5 kilometre from where their belongings were left.
Their bikes, clothes and sleepers left on the river bank.
Initial investigations showed that the boys might have been swept away when swimming near a whirlpool area.
Statistics from the Nghe An Provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs showed that as many as 131 children died from drowning between 2021 and June 2023.
