Two local men riding a jet ski at high speed died after their vessel crashed into a barge on the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this week.

Police in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City, have been investigating the cause of the death of 32-year-old Trinh Hoai L. and Nguyen Huu T., 48, who lost their lives when their jet ski hit the side of a barge on the Saigon River on Friday afternoon.

The hard collision caused both men to fall into the river when their jet ski was running at high speed from the Rach Chiec Bridge to the Saigon Bridge, according to initial police reports.

Some people on the barge threw life jackets toward the men while a fisherman nearby was rushing his motorboat to the scene for rescue but both men had died.

The fisherman then used ropes to fix the jet ski and the bodies of the two victims to a point along the riverbank and reported the case to local police.

Preliminary investigation showed that L. and T. rode the jet ski from the Phu My Hung urban area in District 7 to Nha Be District for a fishing trip on Friday morning, Thu Duc police said.

At noon, the two stopped at a riverside restaurant for lunch and after they left there to return to Phu My Hung, the accident happened.

Jet skis are not allowed to travel on the Saigon River, an inland waterway, an official from the city’s waterway police told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday.

As part of the investigation, verification is underway to determine whether the driver of the jet ski had been granted a driver’s license and whether the vessel had been registered for operation, the official said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!