Five people are missing after a car carrying 7 was swept away by swollen floodwaters bursting over a dam spillway in the central province of Nghe An on Thursday.  

The accident occurred at Khe Ang dam spillway situated in Nghia Dan district’s Nghia Hong commune at 6pm on Sept. 19, according to Nghia Dan’s police chief Phan Tuan Phuong.

Phuong said heavy downpours over the past days have caused a rise in stream water level.

Initial investigation found that at the time of the accident, the driver and a person sitting adjacent to him kicked in the car doors to escape and swam to shore while five others got stuck inside.

The victims include two children, one female, and two males who sat on the back seats of the car. Local soldiers and people are searching for the missing.