The three foreign tourists who died at a waterfall in the Central Highlands of Da Lat on Friday had been identified, as the tour guide who took them there recounted to police what happened in the tragedy.

All of the three deceased holidaymakers were British and their bodies were recovered and taken to Ho Chi Minh City later the same day, when police finished their investigation.

They included two women, 25-year-old Anderson G. and 19-year-old Squire M., and a man named Christian S., whose age is unknown. The women both entered Vietnam on February 4, according to immigration officers.

The body of a victim is recovered. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The tourists died when they were trekking at the Datanla waterfall, a popular destination for adventure game lovers in Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong Province.

The three tourists were on a package organized by Da Lat Passion Travel - Service Limited Company, and guided around Vietnam’s famous resort city by Dang Van Sy.

The 26-year-old tour guide was with the tourists when they died, and was therefore summoned to work with police shortly after the accident.

Sy said he and the tourists departed from their hotel at 9:00 am on Friday for the Robin Hill, one of Da Lat’s popular places of interest.

They then took the cable car system to go from the hill to the beneath Truc Lam Temple and Tuyen Lam.

“We arrived at Datanla at 11:30 and I told my tourists of some activities such as water sliding, swimming and free jumping there,” Sy told police.

After the UK tourists enjoyed those games, Sy continued taking them down to the stream at the upper part of the waterfall.

“I asked them to wear life jackets and crash helmets, and kept all of their personal belongings in my waterproof bag,” the tour guide said.

A rescuer searches for the victims. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Upon reaching the stream, the tourists asked to slide down the water flows.

It is a common activity at the area, in which tourists, wearing life jacket, crash helmet and scratch-resistant suit, lie down and let the stream water move them down.

The British tourists did finish the activity safely, according to the tour guide.

“After sliding down, the male tourist walked toward a cliff near a dangerous whirlpool on the stream, and the women were one meter behind him,” Sy recounted.

“I know that place is dangerous so I shouted to ask them to stay away from that,” he said.

“But they ignored me, jumping down to the stream, still with their life vests.

“Then the man walked back to the women behind him, but he slipped into the whirlpool and was immediately swept away, down to the waterfall.”

Sy immediately jumped to the stream and shouted to ask the female tourists to stand up and try to withstand the water flow.

“But a moment later, the women too were swept away,” Sy said.

“I did not dare to jump to save them as I would also be killed in the same manner.”

When Sy reached the lower part of the waterfall, he saw the body of the male tourist floating on the stream. The tourist was dead at the time he was taken ashore.

Around 15 minutes later, Sy found the body of the first female tourist.

The last victim was only found hours after the tragedy.

Play without tickets

The tourists were swept down a 70 meter waterfall inside the Datanla tourist spot with very rugged terrain, which slowed down search and rescue efforts.

It took nearly 100 rescuers hours to approach the scene, and the last body was only recovered at 5:00 pm.

The bodies were taken back to the nearby Prenn mountain pass when night fell, due to the rough terrain.

Nguyen Van Yen, deputy chairman of the Lam Dong administration, said authorities are still investigating the incident.

“This is a very important accident as foreigners are involved,” he said.

“We are trying to find the causes behind the accident to notify the Consulate General of the UK in Ho Chi Minh City.”

The rugged terrain of the waterfall. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The Datanla waterfall attraction is under the management of Dalat Tourist Co.

Le Viet Luc, director of Dalat Tourist, said the deceased tourists did not buy the ticket for trekking.

“As per our regulation, tourists have to buy tickets to be given the proper safety equipment for trekking activities,” he said.

“Players should also sign a written guarantee in regard of their health conditions, but those three tourists did not buy the ticket and had arrived at the waterfall via the forest, as led by a tour guide of Da Lat Passion Travel - Service Limited Company.”

An adventure tour operator in Da Lat revealed that it is not uncommon for travel firms to take their customers to the waterfall to trek without buying tickets from the Dalat Tourist.

The common price for such an adventure package is up to $30 a person, but some tour organizers are offering much lower prices, only $10, to compete.

“So they have to dodge the entrance tickets to make up for the cheap prices,” he said.

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