Four family members have died after their boat was sunk following a collision with a larger vessel in the northern Vietnamese province of Thai Binh.

According to the provincial Department of Police, the accident occurred at around 3:30 pm on Monday on a section of the Red River in Hong Ly Commune, Vu Thu District, when the ship carrying stones of Captain Pham Van Hien, 26, rammed the smaller boat, which was also transporting the material, of Tran Van Tuan, 41.

Four members of a family aboard the smaller vessel, including Tuan, his wife, 39-year-old Tran Thi Hai, their two-year-old daughter, Tran Thi Dao, and eight-year-old son, Tran Van Duy, were killed as their boat capsized.

The bodies of Tuan, Hai, and Dao were recovered by search and rescue teams on Tuesday, officers said, before adding that Duy was still missing.

The three deceased victims have been brought back to their hometown in neighboring Ninh Binh Province while a search remains underway to look for their eldest son.

The ship of Hien was confiscated by the authorities to support the investigation to figure out the cause of the collision.

According to Tran Ngoc Son, Tuan’s uncle, the man had invested VND300 million (US$13,449) five years ago in building his ship, weighing 180 metric tons, to transport construction materials like sand and stone along the Red River.

The accident occurred when Tuan’s ship was carrying stones from the northern province of Ha Nam to Thai Binh, Son stated, adding that the vessel was just about one kilometer from its destination.

Tuan and his wife had four children with his oldest son drowning two years ago. The only survivor of the family is Tran Van Khanh, who recently turned seven, as he was at his grandmother’s house at the time of the tragedy, Son said.

“Khanh often traveled with his parents on previous journeys, except for this time,” the man elaborated.

Tran Van Can, another uncle of Tuan, stated that the late couple had both been good swimmers, assuming that they died trying to save their children from the cabin.

“As divers approached the sunken boat, the victims were found inside its cabin,” Can added.

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