115 people ‘missing’ in northern Vietnam found alive on mountain

Detecting signs of landslides, 115 people in Kho Vang village, Lao Cai province ran up a mountain at night to keep themselves safe.

Local authorities had suspected they were missing due to landslides in the aftermath of super typhoon Yagi that raged across northern Vietnam.

Nguyen Van Tuan, chairman of the Coc Lau commune people’s committee in Bac Ha district, on Thursday said that the local administration was preparing food for the 115 people of 17 households.

Three days ago, Kho Vang village residents had detected risks of landslides, so they ran to a mountain about one kilometer away to take shelter.

In the night of that day, rain poured down, and rocks and soil buried their seven houses in the village. Among those who stayed at the village, three people were missing and two injured.

Local authorities could not contact the remaining 115 people, so they classified them as “missing due to landslides”.

On Wednesday morning, Coc Lau commune police discovered the group of survivors on the mountain. They were exhausted from lack of food.

At noon the same day, the commune government mobilized forces to bring food up the mountain to the people.

“The village areas are still at risk of landslides, so we let them continue to stay on the mountain. When the situation stabilizes, we will bring them back,” Tuan said.

By 5 p.m. Thursday, northern Vietnam recorded 226 deaths and 104 missing people in the aftermath of super typhoon Yagi, mainly due to landslides and flash floods, according to the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention.

Lao Cai suffered the heaviest human loss with 98 dead and 81 missing. Yen Bai recorded 42 deaths, Cao Bang 43, and Quang Ninh 15.