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Five children drown in Hanoi suburbs 

Five children drown in Hanoi suburbs 

Thursday, October 19, 2017, 17:45 GMT+7

Five Vietnamese children, including four elementary school students and one middle school student, drowned in Hanoi last weekend, contributing to the tens of thousands of children who drown each year across Vietnam.

The chief of office at the Soc Son People’s Committee, Do Thu Nga, confirmed that the five deceased children were five to 13 years old and came from Viet Long Village, Soc Son Town, on the outskirts of the capital.

On the morning of October 15, the children went fishing along a secluded section of the Ca Lo River in Viet Long.

Unfortunately, all five fell into the river. With no one around to help, the children were unable to make it to shore.

At around 12:15 pm, passersby realized what happened and called for help from local citizens and authorities.

The Viet Long People’s Committee began a search of the river and by 2:30 pm recovered all five bodies.

When the bodies were found, a fishing hook was still stuck in one child’s foot. After an autopsy, the bodies were brought back to their family to prepare for the funerals.

“The People’s Committee sent two groups to Viet Long to extend their sympathies and offer VND5 million [US$220] in support,” Nga said.

According to the Viet Long People’s Committee, the deceased are Nguyen Van Them (nine years old), Nguyen Trung Thuc (11 years old), Nguyen Thien Nhan (five years old), Nguyen Van Sung (13 years old), and Nguyen Minh Hop (13 years old). Thuc and Nhan were siblings.

Though heartbreaking, these situations are not uncommon.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a child drowns in Asia every 15 minutes.

In Vietnam alone, over 11,500 children drown each year, according to statistics unveiled by the WHO in 2015. 

Vietnam has the second-highest number of child deaths from drowning in Asia, following Bangladesh’s 17,000.

The situation has led to heated debates over swimming lessons for many years.

According to Ngu Duy Anh, an official at the Ministry of Education and Training, the body has had swimming lessons listed as an optional subject in schools since 1980.

However, the reality is not so simple.

Most schools do not have a swimming pool and there are an extremely limited number of teachers who can swim and teach swimming.

At the beginning of 2010, the ministry required local departments of education and training to implement measures aimed at preventing drowning, including piloting a swimming lesson program in 2010-2015.

The ministry is making considerable efforts to educate and warn people of the risks and prevention methods.

Every year, many children who can and cannot swim still drown in Vietnam, especially in the summer.

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