Police forces are searching for the bodies of the victims in the Lô River in Phú Thọ Province. — Photo baovephapluat.vn

PHÚ THỌ — Five secondary school students drowned while swimming in the Lô River in Phú Thọ Province on Monday afternoon, local authorities said.

Phùng Quang Dũng, secretary of the Party Committee of Sông Lô Commune, said a group of nine boys had gone swimming in an area along the Lô River.

The group included four children born in 2013 and five born in 2012, all from Yên Phú, Yên Lương and Yên Kiều villages in Sông Lô Commune.

During the outing, five of the children were swept underwater and drowned.

Following the incident, local authorities, police forces, rescue teams and residents launched search and rescue operations at the scene.

By 5pm the same day, rescue forces had recovered the bodies of all five victims: N.T.L. (born in 2013, from Yên Kiều Village), B.X.N., N.M.Q., N.C.T. and N.V.T. (all born in 2012 and from Yên Phú Village).

Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the incident.

Also on Monday, the Ministry of Health issued an urgent directive to provincial and municipal authorities nationwide, calling for stronger measures to prevent child injuries and drowning incidents during the 2026 summer holiday and rainy season.

The ministry warned that risks of accidents and drowning among children typically rise during the summer months and flood season, particularly around rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, flooded areas, water reservoirs and unsafe spontaneous recreational sites.

To proactively reduce accidents, the ministry urged localities to strengthen communication and educational campaigns aimed at raising awareness among families, schools and communities about injury and drowning risks during the summer and rainy season.

Authorities were also asked to provide children with safety training and drowning prevention skills.

Local governments were instructed to inspect and promptly address hazardous locations such as ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, deep flooded areas, construction sites and water storage facilities, while installing warning signs, barriers and deploying personnel to monitor dangerous areas.

The directive also emphasised the need to organise safe and healthy summer activities for children and create opportunities for them to learn swimming and water safety skills, as well as accident prevention and disaster response techniques.

Localities were encouraged to provide swimming lessons for disadvantaged children and those living in areas frequently affected by drowning incidents.

The Ministry of Health also called for stronger inter-agency coordination among the health, education, culture, sports, tourism and public security sectors, as well as youth organisations, to improve child supervision during the summer.

The health sector and medical facilities were instructed to prepare sufficient personnel, medicines, equipment and emergency response vehicles to promptly receive and treat children involved in accidents or drowning incidents.

In addition, the ministry urged intensified inspections and supervision of local child injury and drowning prevention efforts, with strict penalties for violations of child safety regulations. — VNS