Pvoil staff courageously rescue flood victims

Selfless Acts Amid Historic Floods in Dak Lak

Heroic Actions by PVOIL Staff

In the pitch-black night of a historic flood, a desperate cry—“Help me! Help me!...”—suddenly pierced the air at Hoa Dinh Tay Petroleum Station – PVOIL Phu Yen (Phu Hoa 1 Commune, Dak Lak Province). Outside, floodwaters surged violently, cold and merciless. In that life-or-death moment, there was no time for hesitation—only courage and humanity urged ordinary people to plunge into the raging waters to save others.

At around 7:30 p.m. on November 21, the worst flood in the memory of residents in the eastern region of Dak Lak (formerly Phu Yen) rose rapidly. Water surged above head level, completely isolating residential areas. Power was cut. Darkness engulfed everything. Around the station, nothing remained but a vast, endless sea of water.

Inside the Hoa Dinh Tay station at that moment were only Mr Do Thai Ngan – Station Manager, Mr Ho Quoc Hung – Station Staff, and a long-haul truck driver who had taken shelter there for the night.

Still shaken by the memory, Mr Ngan recalled: “In the 1993 flood, the water barely reached the yard level, but this time... it nearly erased everything. There was nothing but water all around.”

Behind the station, floodwaters roared across the fields. Amidst howling winds and the roar of water, Mr Hung suddenly heard a faint cry from the distance: “Help me! Help me!...”

Alarmed, he ran inside and shouted, “Hey Brother, I think someone is calling for help out in the field!”

Without hesitation, the two men grabbed flashlights and rushed out. In the dim light, about 100 meters away, they spotted a child crying for help just above the water’s surface. Without thinking twice, they grabbed a 30-liter plastic can from the station to use as a float. The truck driver quickly offered, “I’ve got a rope here.” Mr Ngan and Mr Hung tied the rope around themselves, grabbed the can, and sprinted into the floodwaters.

“We didn’t think at all. We just grabbed the can and rope, ran out blindly—we didn’t know if it was deep or shallow,” Mr Ngan recounted, still visibly haunted. “We swam into the strong current; it was over our heads.”

When they reached the scene, they saw a mother clinging to something in the water, straining to hold her 8-year-old son above the surface. The child’s hoarse cries echoed in the night.

Mr Ngan found a stable footing to anchor himself and lowered the rope for Mr Hung to swim closer to the mother and child. After securing the rope to them, Mr Ngan, Mr Hung, and the truck driver joined forces to pull them back to safety. “We had to pull with all our strength—the current was unbelievably strong, and the mother and child were nearly exhausted,” Mr Ngan remembered.

The mother was completely drained—physically and mentally. “She was speechless, in shock. Only the child could cry for help,” Mr Ngan said emotionally.

As they neared the shore, trembling and choking on her words, the mother said: “I have another child, six years old… I couldn’t hold on… He was swept away… Please help!...”

Those words cut like a knife into the hearts of the rescuers. Amidst the vast, dark, churning waters, hope of finding the boy seemed nearly lost. Still, after bringing the mother and child to the station, they rallied more villagers to search through the night. It wasn’t until 10 a.m. the next morning that the boy’s body was found.

Recalling the moment he plunged into the water, Mr Hung humbly said: “I didn’t know if it was deep or shallow. I just thought of saving them, so I jumped in. I was glad we got them out, but when the mother said one child was still missing… it was heartbreaking.”

The rescued child clung to Mr Hung, shivering: “Uncle, I’m so cold!” The men hurried the boy into the station, laid him on the bed, and wrapped him in blankets to warm him. The boy was shivering, his skin turned purple from the cold. The mother, helped inside, sat in silence, stunned, unable to speak.

“If we hadn’t gone in time, she wouldn’t have made it. The water rushing down from the mountains was freezing and violent. Even we couldn’t bear it—both of us fell ill after that night,” Mr Ngan recalled.

Once the mother regained composure, the men asked about her family. She explained her husband worked far away, leaving her and the children alone. Upon hearing rumors of major flooding and a possible dam collapse, she panicked and decided to take her two children on a motorbike to her aunt’s house. In the darkness, the water rose too quickly, and the flood swept all three of them away...

Though the historic floodwaters are slowly receding, the grief and loss remain deep and painful. The image of the devastated mother, unable to save one child and clinging desperately to the other, is an unforgettable heartbreak.

Amid the disaster, the brave and selfless actions of Mr Ngan, Mr Hung (PVOIL Phu Yen), and the truck driver continue to shine warmly and quietly. Their deeds reflect not only courage but deep compassion and the spirit of unity among the Vietnamese people. These ordinary heroes have helped ease the pain of loss and shown that even in the darkest moments, humanity and kindness still prevail.