Typhoon No.10 has passed, but the grief of the fishing families struck by the sinking of two boats off Cua Viet waters (Quang Tri Province) on September 28 remains raw and unrelenting. By the shore, relatives sit in dazed silence, clinging to the hope that rescue teams will soon recover their missing loved ones.
Reporters from Sai Gon Giai Phong (SGGP) Newspaper, along with officers and soldiers from Trieu Van Border Guard Station (Quang Tri), returned to the site of the tragedy on October 2 to offer comfort and deliver donations worth VND15 million from readers. The funds were given directly to three survivors of the wreck and to the families of two missing fishermen, Quach Hai Lam from Thanh Hoa and Pham Van Hien from Ninh Binh, each receiving VND3 million.
SGGP’s reporters, in coordination with the Quang Tri Border Guard Command, also visited six other fishermen who narrowly escaped death and are now receiving medical support at the command’s forward post, handing over VND18 million in assistance.
Speaking on behalf of his family, Pham Van Tan of Ninh Binh—brother-in-law of the missing fisherman Pham Van Hien—expressed deep gratitude for the timely support. Choking back emotion, he recalled, “Born into a poor seaside village, Hien was the second of many children. At 16, he quit school to go to sea and help his parents support his younger siblings. He has spent his youth battling the waves of the open sea, and to this day, he has not yet started a family. When news of the accident came, my elderly father-in-law collapsed and had to be hospitalized, while my mother-in-law, only this morning, managed to take a coach to Cua Viet.”
Nearby, Quach Thi Hai Linh, sister of the missing fisherman Quach Hai Lam, sat slumped by the water’s edge. Her reddened eyes stared endlessly toward the horizon, straining in vain for word of her brother.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Xuan Vu, Head of Trieu Van Border Guard Station, expressed appreciation for the compassion shown by SGGP readers. “SGGP is the first news agency to personally visit, encourage, and deliver aid to the nine survivors and the families of the two missing fishermen from the September 28 tragedy. The paper’s immediate and heartfelt support is a vital source of strength to help the fishermen and their families endure this hardship,” he said.
Search and rescue operations are still underway, with forces striving to locate the missing men as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, numerous charitable groups joined hands with local authorities and the armed forces to deliver relief to flood-stricken communes in Nghe An, including Tan Ky, Nghia Hanh, Lam Thanh, Hung Nguyen Nam, Tan Phu, and Nghia Dong, on October 2. Volunteers carried instant noodles, drinking water, dry rations, and other necessities directly to affected households. In several communes such as Anh Son, Van Tu, and Do Luong, residents gathered to cook meals and prepare banh chung (Vietnamese square glutinous rice cake) and banh tet (Vietnamese cylindrical sticky rice cake) to send to those trapped by flooding.
According to Mr. Tran Dinh Son, Chairman of Tan Ky Commune People’s Committee, floodwaters are gradually receding, though ten hamlets remain inundated. The sunny weather has aided relief work. At present, people urgently need food and water, but in the coming days, once the water subsides, they will need manpower for cleanup, and households with damaged homes will require financial support for repairs.
