Y Thịnh irrigation reservoir, the site of the drowning incident that claimed the lives of five schoolgirls on July 10. — Photo vtv.vn

LÂM ĐỒNG — Five female secondary school students drowned after swimming in an irrigation reservoir in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng on Friday morning, local authorities said.

Trần Quang Hòa, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Nâm Nung Commune, confirmed that the tragic incident occurred at the Y Thịnh irrigation reservoir in Quảng Hà Hamlet, which has several deep areas that pose significant safety risks.

According to preliminary information, at around 8:30am, a group of eight girls, all aged 11 and students at Nâm N’Đir Secondary School, went to the reservoir to swim. During the outing, five of the students reportedly entered a deep section of the reservoir and drowned. The remaining three rushed back to alert local residents and authorities.

Police officers, commune military personnel and local residents quickly arrived at the scene and launched a search and rescue operation.

By around 11:20am, rescuers had recovered all five victims – Đ.M.T., L.T.Y.C., B.T.T., L.T.N. and B.T.N.Y., who were later confirmed dead.

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The commune administration said warning signs prohibiting swimming had been installed around the reservoir and that anti-drowning awareness campaigns had been carried out through local loudspeaker systems and community outreach programmes.

Later on Friday, leaders of the commune Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee visited the victims’ families to offer condolences and support.

Speaking during the visits, local officials expressed their sympathy and encouraged the families to overcome this tragic loss.

As an immediate measure, the Nâm Nung People’s Committee allocated VNĐ8 million (US$300) from its contingency fund to each affected family.

Local police, military units, mass organisations, schools and residents also visited the bereaved families and provided financial assistance.

The commune authorities have mobilised local forces to help the families organise funeral arrangements for the victims. — VNS