Four dead in canoe sinking in Binh Duong

A young woman and three children died when their canoe capsized and sank in the Thi Tinh River in southern Binh Duong Province Thursday, local authorities reported.

The victims whose bodies were found this noon are 25-year-old Tran Vu Ngoc Dung, her 7-year-old son Doan Hieu An, and her two nieces: Nguyen Thi Kim Hue, 10, and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Han, 7.

All the victims lived in Giang Huong Hamlet, An Lap Commune, Dau Tieng District.

The deadly incident occurred at 9 am January 27, when Dung was paddling the canoe, with the three children on board, on the river to collect water-fern plants floating on the water surface to feed her flock of ducks, local residents said.

When the canoe was about 35 meters from the bank of the river, a strong wave capsized the canoe and plunged all the four into the water, according to witnesses.

Locals who live along the river said they had tried to rescue the victims but failed due to swift flowing currents caused by a high tide.