On February 16, a clip was circulated on social media recording dozens of tourists falling into the river while visiting Cai Rang Floating Market (Cai Rang District, Can Tho City).
The incident is said to have occurred on the morning of February 16, at a location close to the raft house area on Cai Rang Floating Market. At the time of the incident, the raft house area was crowded with tourists, everyone was in a mess. While the passengers fell into the river, a tourist boat was slowly moving forward.
An employee on the tourist boat kept throwing a life jacket at a person in the water. Many people on the raft also quickly helped bring those who fell into the river to shore.
After about 10 hours of posting on social networks, the clip attracted more than 1.4 million views and more than 10,000 shares. Many people commented expressing confusion and fear for the passengers on the ships and rafts here.
The Inspectorate of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VHTTDL) of Can Tho City said that immediately after the incident, the unit took action to verify. The cause of this unexpected incident was that tourists after visiting the specialty store got off the boat in too many places, the weight of the boat crashed, causing many passengers to fall into the river. At this time, passengers were not wearing life jackets.
Explaining the image of the tourist boat rushing in, the Inspector of the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that this was not a collision, but a tourist boat moving in to bring a life jacket to save passengers who fell into the river.
In addition to the talented players, many tourists who know how to swim have also wholeheartedly supported. Thanks to that, the incident was quickly resolved, without causing damage to people and property, all tourists were rescued in time.
According to the Inspectorate of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, the unsafe incident this morning that caused many tourists to fall into the river is a pity, because it more or less affects the tourism image of the city. Tomorrow morning (February 17), the unit will work with the business owner who caused this incident.
Previously, on June 22, 2024, a boat carrying 5 tourists to visit Cai Rang Floating Market also collided with a barge, causing the boat to sink into the river. After that, the passengers were rescued safely. The incident did not cause any human casualties but affected the psychology of tourists.
According to the leader of Cai Rang District People's Committee, the floating market is an important anchorage location for about 200 - 250 boats, ships trading and exchanging goods; sometimes up to 300 - 400 boats. Of which, the fixed number of anchors is about 150 and from other places up to about 100 boats. Cai Rang Floating Market has become a tourism brand of Can Tho City, a national intangible cultural heritage.
