The military conducted search and rescue operations in over 2,000 incidents, rescuing 1,721 people.

These statistics from the beginning of 2025 to the present were presented at the Conference on Lessons Learned in Civil Defense, Incident Response, Disaster Relief, and Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, organized by the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army on the afternoon of July 23rd. Lieutenant General Thai Dai Ngoc, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, chaired the conference.

From the beginning of 2025 to the present, more than 3,150 incidents, natural disasters, and accidents have occurred nationwide, resulting in 389 deaths and 144 missing persons; 450 vehicles sunk, burned, or damaged; 818 houses and factories and 1,458 hectares of forest burned; and more than 3,400 houses collapsed, were damaged, or had their roofs blown off... There were many serious incidents, especially the capsizing of the Green Bay 58 QN-7105 tourist boat in Quang Ninh on July 19, 2025, which resulted in 37 deaths and 2 missing persons...

Lieutenant General Thai Dai Ngoc presided over the conference.

In response to the increasingly complex nature of incidents and natural disasters, and in accordance with directives from higher authorities, the Ministry of National Defense , the General Staff, and the National Civil Defense Steering Committee have issued directives to agencies and units for implementation. Leadership and guidance have been carried out decisively from early on and from afar, with the motto "proactive, decisive, prevention, and response at the highest level, ready to respond to the worst-case scenarios"; effectively promoting the "four on-the-spot" principle, especially the proactive approach of leaders and commanders of agencies and units throughout the army.

Strict duty rosters were maintained at all levels; the situation was closely monitored and understood; developments were analyzed, assessed, and evaluated to devise appropriate response measures. All agencies and units throughout the military proactively implemented measures to prevent, respond to, and mitigate incidents, natural disasters, and catastrophes.

Conference scene

According to the report at the conference, in the first months of 2025, the whole country mobilized more than 186,700 personnel/15,040 vehicles to participate in responding to and handling 2,808 incidents, rescuing nearly 2,100 people and 176 vehicles. Of which, the Army mobilized nearly 120,000 personnel (63.86%) and 8,338 vehicles (55.44%), participating in search and rescue in more than 2,000 incidents (71.69%), rescuing 1,721 people (82.98%) and 140 vehicles...

In addition, the Ministry of Defence promptly deployed 80 officers and soldiers and nearly 100 tons of goods, equipment, and medical supplies to help Myanmar respond to and overcome the earthquake disaster. They also discovered and recovered 28 bodies from the rubble and saved one life, earning high praise from the Government and people of Myanmar.

At the conference, delegates discussed and evaluated the results and solutions to improve the effectiveness of civil defense, disaster response, and search and rescue operations. In particular, following their participation in the rescue operation of the Green Bay 58 tourist boat in Quang Ninh on July 19, 2025, delegates from various units proposed several suggestions: Rapid information must be provided to all forces when incidents occur; a unified plan should be established in advance to ensure the fastest possible deployment of forces and resources; incidents occurring in a particular locality should be commanded and directed by the head of the local disaster prevention, search and rescue, and civil defense command committee; coordinated efforts between forces should be ensured; and investment in equipment and resources for all forces, especially in key and priority areas, should be prioritized. Furthermore, there was a focus on strengthening the specialized and multi-tasking forces for civil defense after the implementation of the two-tiered local government system.

 

 

Delegates delivered speeches at the conference.

In his concluding remarks at the conference, Lieutenant General Thai Dai Ngoc commended the agencies and units for their proactive participation in successfully completing civil defense activities, responding to incidents, natural disasters, and search and rescue operations. He requested that in the coming period, agencies and units strictly adhere to and implement directives, resolutions, projects, and plans from higher authorities; coordinate with relevant agencies to improve the quality of forecasting and early warning systems, ensuring timely and accurate updates on incidents, natural disasters, and catastrophes; and promptly inform local authorities and the public to enable proactive response.

The organization maintains a strict state of readiness, closely monitoring weather conditions and the development of natural disasters, strengthening inspections and supervision; providing timely advice to the Steering Committee and Command at all levels to ensure readiness to respond to incidents, natural disasters, and catastrophes, minimizing damage. It invests in infrastructure and equipment to support command and control, especially the construction of the 112 emergency hotline system to receive information on incidents, natural disasters, and catastrophes nationwide; organizes training, drills, and exercises to respond to incidents, natural disasters, catastrophes, and search and rescue operations, based on realistic scenarios; and military press agencies intensify propaganda efforts regarding civil defense activities, incident response, natural disaster response, and search and rescue operations.

Text and photos: SON BINH

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/tin-tuc/quan-doi-tim-kiem-cuu-nan-hon-2-000-vu-cuu-duoc-1-721-nguoi-838003