Five children drown in Mekong Delta pond

By Cuu Long   September 13, 2020 | 08:40 am PT
Five children aged 2-13 drowned in a pond in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang Sunday afternoon.

Authorities in the province’s Tinh Bien District said the children had gone to bathe in the 1,000-square-meter pond at around 1 p.m.

Around an hour later, residents detected the incident, found the children and rushed them to the local medical center, but it was too late. Among the victims, two came from the same family.

The deepest part of the pond is nearly 2 m and the children could not swim, local officials said.

Child drowning is not uncommon in Vietnam, with the WHO estimating 11,000 such deaths a year.

Experts have said that in a nation with a coastline of nearly 3,300 km and innumerable rivers, canals and ponds, a lack of facilities and personnel to teach children swimming and safe behavior in water bodies is made worse by the lack of safety knowledge and awareness among parents and other adults.

The government has tried to introduce swimming classes in schools nationwide but the program has only become popular in some urban areas.

 
 
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