On the afternoon of September 10, Ms. Dang Thi Mai - Acting Chairwoman of Nam Cuong Ward People's Committee (Yen Bai City) said that the authorities had just coordinated with the military to successfully capture two crocodiles that had escaped from their cages.
On the same morning, military forces on rescue and patrol boats discovered two crocodiles that had escaped from their cages and were in the Nam Cuong ward lake.
"The military then used tranquilizer guns to shoot the two crocodiles and used measures to capture them," said Ms. Mai.
According to the leader of Nam Cuong ward, the two crocodiles are being temporarily locked up by the military in a safe place, not dangerous to people.
Previously, on the evening of September 9, Facebook posted images of two crocodiles escaping from their cages and swimming in muddy flood water in Yen Bai city.
Attached is a photo of a notification via Zalo with the content: "Currently, Crocodile Lake in Nam Cuong ward has 2 crocodiles. Parents, please be careful not to let your children near the lake area."
The above information has made many people very worried in the context of storm No. 3 that has pushed more than 3,700 households in Yen Bai city into deep flooding. Some places have lost power and lives...
According to the investigation of Lao Dong Newspaper reporters, the two crocodiles mentioned above belong to Mr. Bui Duc Thien, residing in Nam Tho village, Nam Cuong ward, Yen Bai city.
When he bought the farm, he took over two crocodiles from the previous owner and has kept them as pets ever since. Each individual now weighs about 120kg.
"Normally they stay in cages. Surrounded by very sturdy brick walls and on top is a steel fence, locked very tightly," Mr. Thien described.
However, according to Mr. Thien, when the floodwaters flooded the farm and also flooded the entire cage, he was very worried about whether the two crocodiles could escape or not.
"Yesterday afternoon (September 9), I proactively went to the authorities to report with the hope that everyone would have clear information and thereby raise their vigilance," Mr. Thien told a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper.
