Frogman "robs the river god's rice" nearly 100 times, hides his profession from his lover

Nearly 100 times "rob the river god of rice"

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Hoan is 32 years old this year. He has 13 years of experience working at the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team of Region 1, Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (PCCC&CNCH), Thanh Hoa Provincial Police.

He said that the daily work of firefighters like him is not only to rush into "firestorms" to save people and property, but also to search for bodies and rescue victims who have drowned or gone missing in rivers and seas...

Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Hoan has nearly 10 years of experience in retrieving bodies of drowning victims (Photo: Thanh Tung).

With 13 years of experience, Mr. Hoan has been involved in the job of recovering bodies from the riverbed for nearly 10 years. Recalling his first day in the profession, Mr. Hoan said that he was a skilled diver. In 2017, a couple jumped off Ham Rong Bridge (Thanh Hoa City) to commit suicide. Upon receiving the order, he was assigned to join the unit's working group to search for the two unfortunate victims.

“Although I can’t swim, I have good diving skills so my brothers often call me “frogman” or “otter”. However, the first time I participated in searching for drowning victims, looking at the turbulent and fast-flowing Ma River, I was a bit apprehensive. But because of work and the task assigned by my superiors, at that time I only thought that I had to find the victim by any means”, said Mr. Hoan.

After his first “fate” with the profession, thanks to the guidance of his colleagues and seniors, Mr. Hoan learned the job very quickly. Even in difficult cases, the victim’s body was missing for many days, but when he “took action”, he was sure to find it.

Up to now, although he does not remember exactly how many searches he has participated in, he estimates that he and his teammates have recovered nearly 100 bodies.

According to Mr. Hoan, during the 7 years of recovering bodies, each case left him with its own emotions and pain. In addition to cases of couples jumping off bridges, boat capsizing accidents, and slipping and falling into rivers, he has also witnessed many victims drowning at a very young age.

Although he is a brave man with nerves of steel and is used to dealing with dead bodies, he still feels a chill every time he mentions the incident that happened in 2022. That was the search for 5 female students who drowned in the Mau Khe River (Thieu Hoa district).

Rescue work often requires contact with the bodies of unfortunate victims (Photo: Character provided).

“Five female students invited each other to the riverbank to take photos, unfortunately slipped and fell, leading to drowning. When I arrived at the scene, I was extremely heartbroken to see relatives and villagers gathered at the riverbank waiting for news. When I found the victims, I could not hold back my tears, they were so young, just a little carelessness had left serious consequences for themselves and their relatives,” Senior Lieutenant Hoan recalled.

That is just one of hundreds of cases that Mr. Hoan has experienced. Mr. Hoan said that there are cases where the victim has been missing for a long time, the body is no longer intact, smells bad, if you meet a "weak-minded" person, you will be haunted, even after work you cannot eat.

I wish I were "unemployed" every day.

Lieutenant Hoan said that recovering bodies not only requires a “fate” for the job but also requires a solid grasp of the profession, experience and a bit of luck. Normally, when receiving a case, he often observes the scene very carefully to judge, determine the correct location, and narrow down the area to search for the victim.

"Retrieving corpses not only requires "a talent" for the job but also requires a solid grasp of the profession, experience and a bit of luck," said Senior Lieutenant Hoan (Photo: Character provided).

“If the water flow is strong, within 2 hours of the accident, the victim will no longer be at the location where the incident occurred, but will drift to another location. At that time, it is necessary to determine the direction of the flow to deploy a suitable search plan,” said Mr. Hoan.

According to Senior Lieutenant Hoan, the work of retrieving bodies is extremely difficult and dangerous. While working at the bottom of the river, divers like him often have to face reefs, obstacles and strong currents. Therefore, he is always careful not to make mistakes when performing his duties.

Mr. Hoan remembers one time when he was searching for a victim, the rope of his diving suit got caught in a bush, in a "life and death" situation, he had to cut the rope to escape. "Working underwater is different from working on land, if you are not careful and do not anticipate the situation, an accident is very likely to happen. Therefore, on days when there are no incidents, we have to actively practice and improve our physical strength to gain experience while performing our duties," Mr. Hoan shared.

In addition to the lurking dangers, rescuers like Mr. Hoan are not fixed in terms of time. Regardless of sun or rain, early or late, even on the 30th of Tet, when an incident occurs, they still have to go on duty.

In nearly 10 years in the profession, Mr. Hoan has recovered nearly 100 bodies of victims (Photo: Thanh Tung).

Mr. Hoan said that because of the nature of his job, he often had to deal with corpses, so he often encountered awkward situations. He remembered the first days of recovering corpses the most. At that time, he was 27 years old and had a girlfriend, but he never dared to confide in his daily work. Only after they got married did he dare to speak up.

“When we first got married, my wife was startled when I told her I was going to retrieve bodies at night and she was afraid to sleep. There were even days when she came home and felt sorry for me but didn’t dare to hold my hand. It took a long time for my wife to get used to going out at night and coming back home, and to understand her husband’s work,” Senior Lieutenant Hoan confided.

Mr. Hoan just hopes he will always be "unemployed" (Photo: Thanh Tung).

During many years in the profession, Mr. Hoan witnessed many scenes of tragedy and separation.

“Every time I see the victims’ relatives in pain, anxiously waiting for news about the victims, I have to try harder to quickly find the bodies to help them ease their pain, and fulfill my last wish for the deceased. My colleagues and I often joke that one day we will be “unemployed”, only then will there be no more pain and loss,” Hoan shared.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/nguoi-nhai-gan-100-lan-cuop-com-ha-ba-giau-nghe-voi-nguoi-yeu-20241004094505486.htm