Six people were killed when a boat carrying 12 people sank in the Krong No River in Dak Nong Province yesterday (March 13), according to an official from the central highland province.
Le Duc Cuong, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Nam Ndir Commune in Krong No District told reporters that the 12 persons on board included the boatman and 11 staff members and engineers of the Dak Lak Branch of the HCMC-based Monsanto Joint Stock Company, from Thailand that specialised in tree seedlings.
The boat capsized under a torrent of water released by the Buon Tua Sarh Hydropower Plant, while it was on its way to Ea R'Bin Commune in the Lak District of Dak Lak Province.
The overloaded boat was actually designed to carry only three people at a time and had no life jackets on board.
The local oarsman Doan The Truyen (born 1953) and five other persons are the only survivors.
Three bodies have so far been recovered and local authorities are continuing to search for the remaining three unaccounted persons.
