After the incident, violations were discovered
This unfortunate incident occurred while tourists visiting the Khoi My stop, a raft house selling Western specialties at Cai Rang Floating Market (Cai Rang District, Can Tho City). This is a raft house renovated from barges, with an area of about 10x20m, and a load capacity of 40 tons. The roof of the raft house is reinforced with iron and wood.
The cause was determined to be overloaded with people in a small area, causing the cape to collapse. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the incident caused panic among tourists and affected the image of Cai Rang Floating Market - a famous tourist destination in the city.
Currently, the clip recording the scene of tourists falling into the river has attracted more than 4.7 million views and more than 24,000 shares on social networks. Many people commented expressing concern for tourists on the raft houses.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang On - Chief Inspector of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VHTTDL) of Can Tho City, after the incident, the interdisciplinary inspection team came to inspect and discovered a number of violations of this facility, including not fully implementing business conditions, the facility had an inspection but had expired and did not ensure safety conditions for tourists.
Khoi My facility was suspended from operation from February 17. The inspection team also agreed to draw up a record of violations to administratively sanction the owner of the facility. For the location of the incident, the owner of the facility must reinforce and upgrade to ensure the safety of tourists.
Tightening tourism safety
Cai Rang Floating Market has become a tourism brand of Can Tho City, a national intangible cultural heritage. Currently, the floating market is an important anchorage location for about 200 - 250 boats, ships, and rafts to buy, sell, and exchange goods.
Many tourism service businesses, including shelters and stops, have been formed here. However, not all facilities ensure full conditions on business license, inspection and safety.
The goal by 2025 is that Can Tho City strives to make tourism a spearhead economic sector, building high-quality and competitive tourism products. In particular, river tourism is a special strength to attract tourists.
From the incident of the cape house collapse on Cai Rang Floating Market that caused many tourists to fall into the river, the need to improve safety at tourist facilities on the river has been raised.
After the incident, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City said that it had issued a document requesting the People's Committee of Cai Rang District to direct the district's specialized agencies to conduct inspections, verification, and remind tourism activities for boats, ships, and rafts operating in the Cai Rang Floating Market area to comply with legal regulations.
Boats, ships and rafts must comply with inspections, ensure safety, not pick up passengers at places that are not in accordance with regulations (unofficial wharves), which can pose a risk of accidents and cause disorder in traffic safety on inland waterways. Floating raft businesses must comply with regulations, if they violate, they will be handled according to the law.
The goal of the inspection is to ensure that all stops and rafts serving tourists fully meet safety conditions, avoiding similar unfortunate incidents.
