Search and rescue teams scan Thác Bà Lake for boat accident victims on Sunday morning amid dense fog and drizzle. — VNA/VNS Photos Đinh Thùy

LÀO CAI — Search and rescue efforts were still underway on Sunday afternoon to locate the remaining five victims of a boat accident at Thác Bà Lake in Lào Cai Province.

The accident occurred on Saturday evening as a family was travelling home by boat after a Tết visit to relatives. The passenger boat collided with a stone-carrying ferry, resulting in one death and five people reported missing. Rescue teams saved 17 people.

From Saturday night to Sunday noon, Lào Cai Province mobilised around 500 personnel, including police, military forces, militia, volunteer teams and local residents, to carry out rescue operations and search for the missing. However, darkness, drizzle, dense fog and the lake’s depth hampered their efforts.

The first body was recovered at around 7.20am on Sunday. The victim was an 11-year-old boy identified by his initials as H.Đ.M.

Divers from the naval special forces are deployed to search for the missing victims.

Still in shock, the surviving family members waited near the accident site as search and rescue efforts continued on Sunday.

Lào Cai People’s Committee Chairman Nguyễn Tuấn Anh was present at the scene to direct search operations and extend condolences to the family.

He instructed relevant units to mobilise maximum manpower and equipment, divide search areas methodically, increase the number of professional divers and deploy detection equipment to speed up the search.

The provincial leader also requested that local authorities provide timely policy support and initial assistance to the victims’ families, while ensuring the health, safety and logistical needs of rescue personnel.

Lào Cai People’s Committee chairman Nguyễn Tuấn Anh visits the site to extend condolences to the victims' families and direct search efforts.

The military, police and medical forces were urged to coordinate closely and carry out rescue measures without delay. Lào Cai police were assigned to investigate the cause of the incident.

Beyond local forces, Brigade 126 of the Naval Special Forces has played a key role in the search.

Lieutenant Colonel Phạm Ngọc Tuấn Anh, deputy commander of the brigade, said that immediately after receiving orders on Saturday evening, the unit deployed 20 experienced combat divers along with deep-diving equipment, rescue boats, air compressors and other specialised rescue tools from its station in Hải Phòng City to Thác Bà Lake in Lào Cai Province.

They arrived at the scene and began search operations at around 3.30am on Sunday.

As of Sunday afternoon, the search was continuing for the remaining five missing people. Divers are conducting targeted dives at suspected locations identified by local authorities and residents, followed by wider searches around the sunken vessel within a radius of 100-200m. — VNS