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Traumatic brain injury suspected in three British deaths at Vietnam waterfall

Traumatic brain injury suspected in three British deaths at Vietnam waterfall

Thursday, March 03, 2016, 17:09 GMT+7

Head injuries might have killed three Britons in an adventure game tragedy that occurred in a popular resort town in central Vietnam earlier this week, police found after an autopsy, ruling out water asphyxia as the cause.

Three British tourists visiting the Datanla waterfall in Da Lat, a famous romantic city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, died when engaging in an adventure game downstream on Friday.

Nguyen Thi Nguyen, director of Lam Dong’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said on Saturday that no official reports had been made by police officers on the cause of the accident.

The victims have been identified as Chistian T. S., Beth G. A. and Isoben M., all British, Lam Dong police said on Saturday.

Beth G. A. had her face injured, whereas Isoben M.’s face was severely bruised and her right leg and arm were broken, according to an initial autopsy’s results. Chistian T. S. also had a deep cut on his forehead.

Findings from the autopsy have pointed out traumatic brain injury following an impact with rocks as the cause of the deaths.

The three slid into a dangerous whirlpool in the stream at the upper part of the Datanla waterfall around noon on Friday, according to the tour guide who took them there.

The company that operates the Datanla tourist area said the deceased had not bought the tickets for the adventure activities, so they were not given the proper safety equipment.

Further investigation is underway.

UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever arrived on Saturday at the site of the accident in Lam Dong.

The ambassador went hundreds of meters through the forest on foot to reach the scene and hear reports on what had happened.

Ambassador Lever had a meeting later that afternoon with Pham S, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Lam Dong, in which the Vietnamese official expressed sincere empathy with the embassy and the victims’ families.

“This is a tragic loss to their families and to the UK Embassy in Vietnam,” S said.

The vice chairman also promised to mobilize every available force to look into the cause of the accident and provide the embassy with an official answer in the shortest possible time.

Ambassador Lever sent his thanks to the authorities of Lam Dong for their quick response and assistance with ambassadorial proceedings concerning the accident.

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