8 days of drifting on the waves
To search for the bodies of the last victims of the Green Bay 58 tourist boat capsize in Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh province), Rescue Team 116 worked for 8 consecutive days, with 35 members participating and 15 rescue boats.
According to Mr. Nham Quang Van - Captain of Rescue Team 116, the team started working early in the morning of July 20, exploring every nail and the caves at sea within a radius of dozens of kilometers around the scene of the ship capsize. On the afternoon of July 26, the team found the body of the last victim of the Green Bay 58 tourist boat capsize, Mr. T.
Returning home after 8 days of searching, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh (46 years old) - a member of Rescue Team 116 - still could not forget the moments on duty at sea.
Ms. Tinh said that she has been attached to the team since its inception, completing many tasks in different river areas, but this is the first time the team has worked in a bay, immense with waves. At that time, the whole team took on a mission due to complicated weather, Quang Ninh was one of the localities affected by storm No. 3 Wipha, so the search was more difficult.
"After taking up the job, the captain met with the members to urgently develop a search plan. We divided into many routes and different search directions, in addition to members going by boat at sea, there were also teams going along the coast. Although familiar with the river, this time in the sea of big waves and strong winds, the team members often had people who were drunk by waves, affecting their health. I am no exception.
To keep my health for the long search, one day I was assigned to search along the coast. After traveling many times for dozens of kilometers, my legs were tired but I still tried to walk because the victim was still in the cold sea," Ms. Tinh recounted.
Also putting aside his work to go to Quang Ninh with his teammates to find unfortunate victims, Mr. Pham Ngoc Duong (37 years old, also known as Minh Tue) - Deputy Captain of Rescue Team 116 - said: "This mission is really difficult for the team members. We searched for a long time at sea, in complex weather, erratic sunshine and rain, so many members were sunburned and had colds.
At around 7am, the members start work and usually finish at 7pm. There are days when I drift at sea for more than 10 hours, and I also have lunch at sea.
Human love in the Gulf of Tonkin
Despite the hardships and difficulties, for 8 days, members of Rescue Team 116 continued to persevere in searching for the bodies of the last victims of the Green Bay 58 tourist boat capsize.
" treating the victim's body tearfully is something we cannot control. According to our experience in many years of searching, if we search for too long, we only worry about the body not being intact. This is in the sea, so many of the impacts of nature will have more negative impacts. However, the bodies of the victims were finally found after a long journey, helping us return to feel more secure when the mission was completed" - Ms. Tinh happily said.
Not only were the victims' bodies moved when they saw the victims, but the members of Rescue Team 116 shared: "We have received a lot of affection, care and support from the people of Quang Ninh. Every warm and affectionate meal or cake package, bottle of water, fruit... is carefully brought to the search area, adding motivation for us to continue working. This is also the first time I have been to the rescue team at a hotel, for rescue workers who are used to resting right on the grass like us, we are truly grateful".
In addition, Rescue Team 116 is still hoping to find a person to transfer the amount of 50 million VND, as the team is searching for victims of the tourist boat incident in Ha Long Bay to send back.
