Rescuers have found all seven bodies of the students who were drowned while swimming off a beach in Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday. 

By 5 am this morning, December 30, the last four bodies of the seven students who were swept away on Sunday afternoon while bathing off the 30 Thang 4 (April 30) Beach had been found, the district People’s Committee reported. Three of the seven bodies had been found by Sunday evening, authorities said.

The recovery of the bodies is the result of the great efforts of rescuers, who worked overnight despite a temperature of 18 C after receiving the bad news on yesterday afternoon.

The rescue force was made up of more than 100 people, including local border guards, firefighters, soldiers, and fishermen.

The victims were among 96 students and 19 teachers from Junior High School Nguyen Binh Khiem of Binh Duong Province’s Dau Tieng District who were on a tour of Can Gio organized by the school.

Some of the bodies were found as far as 10 km from the beach, rescuers said.

After receiving the heartbreaking news, the Binh Duong province Department of Education and Training sent a working group to Can Gio yesterday afternoon to handle the case. 

The bodies are now being kept in the Can Gio Hospital for identification by their relatives before being taken to Binh Duong.

The dead victims are Vo Tan Tai, Le Cong Hau, Nguyen Hoang Long, Nguyen Phan Thanh Lam, Vo Thanh Luan, Doan Minh Tam, and Le Truong Duy.

The HCMC Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee has offered VND5 million (US$240) to each of the families of the deceased students as initial support. 

The People’s Committee of Dau Tieng District, Binh Duong province, gave the same amount to each of the families.