The fateful call from the Thousand Streets River

GD&TĐ - Just as the summer vacation began, a boat capsizing on the Ngan Pho River claimed the lives of four people, leaving behind immeasurable grief.

An unfinished summer vacation by the river in my hometown.

Late in the afternoon of June 2nd, the village of Vũng Tròn, Sơn Kim 1 commune ( Hà Tĩnh province ) was shrouded in grief as authorities successively recovered the bodies of four victims from a drowning incident on the Ngàn Phố River. The victims included Ms. Phạm Thị Hồng N., her daughter Nguyễn Thùy D. (born in 2021), and her two nieces, Phạm Quỳnh A. (born in 2014) and Phạm Minh T. (born in 2016).

The incident occurred just as the children had finished the school year and were eagerly anticipating their summer vacation. Ms. N. married a man from Duc Tho commune, and her family moved to Ninh Binh to work and live. On May 31st, Ms. N. took her two children to Son Kim 1 commune (Ha Tinh province) to visit her maternal grandparents' home. Her mother's house in Vung Tron village is only a few hundred meters from the accident site.

Authorities and local residents recovered the bodies of the victims during the night.

Meanwhile, sisters Quynh A. and Minh T. from Son Kim 2 commune were also sent by their family to visit their grandparents during the summer. These days of reunion at the beginning of the holiday season, which seemed to be filled with the joy of togetherness, were unexpectedly tragically cut short.

According to relatives, on the afternoon of June 2nd, Ms. N., along with her two daughters and three of her brother's children, went to the upstream area of ​​the Ngan Pho River to swim and play. Before the accident occurred, she even live-streamed on social media scenes of her children and grandchildren playing on the sandy bank of the river.

In that short video , the mother repeatedly warned her children not to go too far out of the water, not to go into deep water. Her worried reminders now bring tears to many people's eyes when they watch it again.

According to initial information from local authorities, while playing, Ms. N. and her three young children boarded a local resident's aluminum boat anchored near the shore. Shortly after, the boat suddenly capsized, causing all four people to fall into the water.

Ms. N's husband rushed back to his hometown to attend the funeral of his wife and child after the fateful phone call.

The two young children who were with them miraculously escaped the accident and, in a state of panic, ran back to the residential area to call for help. Relatives and local residents immediately rushed to the scene to search for them. However, the accident area was deep and had a complex current, so all rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

According to the leaders of Son Kim 1 commune People's Committee, the location where the incident occurred is about 300 meters from Ms. N.'s mother's house. This is a deep water area and warning signs indicating danger had been posted beforehand.

"It's possible that due to a lack of understanding of the local river flow and topography, during her summer vacation back home, she and her children went to this area to play and unfortunately met with an accident," the local leader shared.

Crying on two roofs

From the evening of June 2nd to the morning of June 3rd, an atmosphere of grief enveloped the road leading to Dai Dong village, Duc Tho commune (Ha Tinh province). Inside the small house of Ms. N.'s family, the sound of heart-wrenching sobs was incessant.

On the altar, shrouded in incense smoke, photographs of the young mother and her little daughter were placed side by side. White wreaths covered the room, a sight that brought tears to the eyes of anyone who came to pay their respects.

The death of his wife, children, and grandchildren has caused Nam immense pain.

Amidst the crowd offering condolences, Nguyen Hoai Nam (born in 1988), the husband of Ms. N., was almost completely broken. The man repeatedly broke down in tears when mentioning his recently deceased wife and daughter.

He recounted that this summer, the family planned for their two children to visit their paternal and maternal grandparents, one after the other. These simple summer plans had just begun when the accident struck.

His voice choked with emotion as he vividly remembered the fateful phone call around 6 PM on June 2nd. On the other end of the line was his eldest daughter, sobbing. "Dad, Mom, my sister, and my two cousins ​​have drowned..."

"Hearing my son's story left me speechless. I couldn't believe it was true. Just a few days ago, my wife and I were still talking, planning that in a few days I would return to Ha Tinh and we would both go back to work as usual," Mr. Nam said, his voice choked with emotion.

Sitting silently before the portraits of her mother and younger sister, little TL, with teary eyes, constantly clung to her relatives. Fear was still clearly visible on the face of the child who had just witnessed the most horrific moment of her life.

More than 50km away, in Che Bien village, Son Kim 2 commune, an atmosphere of grief also enveloped the home of Mr. Pham Van Tuyen and Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc.

In their newly completed home, the result of years of saving, the portraits of sisters Quynh A. and Minh T. are placed side by side amidst the choked sobs of their relatives.

Mr. Tuyen's family has three children. Quynh A. is the eldest, Minh T. is the second, and the youngest is only 6 years old. This summer vacation, Mr. Tuyen and his wife took their children to their paternal grandparents' house to play and meet relatives who had returned to their hometown from afar. No one imagined that this early summer reunion would turn into a painful separation.

Relatives and villagers organized a funeral for the two sisters, daughters of Mr. Tuyen.

The father broke down in tears several times when talking about his children. In just one afternoon, he lost two of his own children, his sister, and a nephew.

“The children had just finished the school year, and the whole family was preparing for the summer vacation. But now everything is gone. This pain is too great; my family doesn’t know how to overcome it,” Mr. Tuyen said, his voice choked with emotion.

On the morning of June 3rd, representatives from various departments, agencies, and organizations, along with local authorities, visited and offered condolences to the two families. Numerous citizens also voluntarily provided manpower and resources to help with the funeral arrangements for the victims.

Four lives were lost forever beneath the Ngàn Phố River. Behind that accident were unfinished summer vacations, unfulfilled plans, and immense grief for those left behind. Amidst the weeping farewells from two homes, the memory of that peaceful afternoon by the river in their hometown still resurfaces like a heart-wrenching fragment, a reminder of the dangers that always lurk during the summer.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/cuoc-goi-dinh-menh-tu-dong-ngan-pho-post780338.html