Deadly open sewers claim another victim in southern Vietnam

The body of a boy was found in a river in southern Vietnam on Thursday night, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from where he was washed down a drain during a heavy downpour the previous day.

The 11-year-old was walking home from school on a flooded road on Wednesday afternoon when his sandal slipped off. The boy chased after it but was pulled into a new sewer that was not covered with a grate or fence.

His body was found near a pier down a river in Binh Duong Province, which neighbors Saigon.

The tragedy comes a week after a similar incident in the nearby Binh Phuoc Province where the body of a teenage girl was found two days after she was swept down a drain.

Open drains often have tragic consequences in Vietnam during the monsoon season.

A year ago, an eight-year-old boy, also in Binh Duong, was found dead 40 hours after being washed into a sewer following heavy rains and flash floods.

A nine-year-old boy also died in a similar accident in the same province in September 2014. His body was found after two days.

But open sewers can also prove deadly when it’s dry.

A man in Saigon died last October after falling into one while he was running to catch a bus.

All these incidents have been treated as accidents and no construction units or management officials have been held responsible. No compensation has reportedly been paid to the victims' families either.