Authorities in Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam have ordered a suspension of swimming activities at the Du Gia Waterfall in the namesake commune after a tourist drowned there this week.

Hoang Minh Truong, chairman of the People’s Committee of Du Gia Commune in Yen Minh District, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday that the commune administration had decided to issue a temporary ban on bathing at the Du Gia Waterfall, also known as the Ba Tien Fall, in Tham Luong Village, effective from 3:00 pm on Friday.

“Swimming activities at the cascade will be suspended until further notice,” Truong said, adding that the Du Gia administration dispatched task forces to guard the waterfall during the suspension period.

The Yen Minh People’s Committee told authorities in Du Gia to publicize the ban, and ask catering and accommodation service providers and tourists to strictly comply with the regulation.

Tour guides and owners of lodging facilities will be punished if their guests take a bath at the Du Gia Waterfall.

According to preliminary investigation results, a group of six tourists were swimming at the Du Gia Waterfall at 3:30 pm on Wednesday.

After jumping into the water, T.X.H., 24, who resided in Phu Tho Province, northern Vietnam, drowned.

His friends and locals quickly rushed him to the nearest healthcare center for emergency treatment, but he was pronounced dead at 6:00 pm on the same day.

After being notified of the deadly incident, the Yen Minh administration asked Du Gia Commune to halt bathing activities at the cascade.

The Du Gia Waterfall has yet to be certified as a tourist site, but it has drawn the sheer number of local and international visitors, according to the Ha Giang Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

Tourists have traveled to the cascade to enjoy such majestic mountainous landscapes, and take a bath at the fall.

However, the site has no safety infrastructure, while no agencies have been authorized to manage the place and conduct rescue and search operations.

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