Holding the rope tightly to pull the bamboo raft downstream to the other side of the stream to return home in Huoi Lich 1 village (Nam Ke commune, Dien Bien province), when they reached the shore, the two men were exhausted, sweat pouring down their faces.
Looking back at the water, a man said softly: "Adults with strength are still tired like this, so children can only hold on for a short while before losing all their strength. The boys who were swept away by the flood the other day must have been so exhausted that they let go and let the raft and themselves drift away."
Having said that, the man pushed his bike up the hill. He and his bike had to struggle through the muddy road to get home.
Waiting until the two men were gone, the village chief, captain of Huoi Lich 1 village - Giang A De, told about the recent flood that swept away a child in the village.
At around 8am on July 4, 3 children from Huoi Lich 1 village went rafting across the stream, but because the stream water was high and the current was fast, after going down the raft for a while, the children were exhausted and let go. The raft drifted freely, the 3 children followed the raft and were swept away by the water; the 2 older children swam to shore; LAA (8 years old) was swept away by the water. It was not until 4 days later (evening of July 7) that LAA's body was found on Nam Cha stream (about 15km from where she went missing).
"Everyone in the village loved LAA. After that day, everyone told the children not to go on rafts without an adult; the adults still had to go to work in the fields and go to work by raft across the stream every day. What could we do, the road was like that!", said Mr. Giang A De.
Talking with Mr. Vu Duc Thiep, Vice Chairman of Nam Ke Commune People's Committee, we learned that Quang Lam stream is named after Quang Lam commune, but the stream's flow is the border point of Quang Lam and Nam Ke communes. People from 7 villages with a total of 285 families of H'Mong, Khang and Dao ethnic groups regularly travel across the stream.
Mr. Vu Duc Thiep said: From the center of Nam Ke commune to the villages: Huoi Lu 1, 2, 3, Pa My 3, Huoi Lich 1, 2 is about 30km. On the way to the commune, there is a section passing Quang Lam stream. In the dry season, the stream water is dry, making it easy for people to move, but every time it rains, especially in the rainy season, it is extremely difficult to move.
Before the rainy season, people often tell each other to make rafts out of bamboo and then pool money to buy steel wire to tie the two banks together to make a rope for people to hold on to to steer the raft. When necessary, the elderly and young people in the villages all go on rafts across the stream.
Mr. Vu Duc Thiep said: "Although everyone knows how to use rafts, it is still very dangerous, especially on rainy days when flood water rises dozens of meters high, the danger is unpredictable."
Source: https://nhandan.vn/di-be-qua-suoi-hiem-nguy-hien-huu-o-quang-lam-nam-ke-post892520.html
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