TOKYO – Two Vietnamese interns have gone missing after Super Typhoon Haishen swept through Kyushu Island, southwest of Japan early yesterday, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka prefecture confirmed.

The interns were working at the Aioigumi Joint Stock Company in Miyazaki prefecture, located on Kyushu Island.

Before the landing of Haishen, concerned that the two interns’ accommodation near the company might be unsafe in the storm, its director suggested they take shelter at his house, which was also the firm’s office and had stronger structure.

However the powerful typhoon caused a landslide on a mountain there, making the house collapse into a nearby river. The two Vietnamese interns, together with the director’s wife and child, went missing as a result. The director himself was injured and hospitalised.

Local authorities are searching for the missing.

Vietnamese Consul General in Fukuoka Vu Binh said shortly after being notified of the incident, the Consulate General promptly carried out citizen protection measures. It also worked with and received active coordination from relevant agencies of Japan in providing information and search for the Vietnamese interns.

Earlier, he added, right after receiving information about Super Typhoon Haishen, the Consulate General had issued warnings for the Vietnamese community on its website, as well as on websites and fan pages of Vietnamese organisations and associations in the region.

It also kept contact with Vietnamese people’s associations and groups, along with some businesses and schools with a large number of Vietnamese in the areas the Consulate General is in charge of to have a good grasp of their situation, urged them to take prevention measures and receive information to implement timely citizen protection measures if necessary.

Typhoon Haishen swept through Kyushu Island yesterday with wind speeds of up to 160km per hour and gusts of 216km per hour.

As of September 7 noon, at least 46 people in the Kyushu region were injured in this typhoon.VNS