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

(Dan Tri) - In nearly 10 years as a rescuer, Lieutenant Hoan has recovered nearly 100 drowning bodies. The work is hard and dangerous, but he always tries his best to help the victims' relatives fulfill their final wishes.

Nearly 100 times "rob the river god of rice"

Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Hoan is 32 years old this year. He has worked for 13 years at the Fire Fighting and Rescue Team of Region 1, Fire Prevention and Rescue Police Department (PCCC&CNCH) of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police. He said that the daily work is not only rushing into "firestorms" to save people and property, firefighters like him also perform the task of searching for bodies and rescuing victims who drowned or went missing on rivers and seas...

Senior 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 the first day he entered the profession, Mr. Hoan said that he was a good 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 don't know how to swim, I have good diving skills, so my brothers often call me "frogman", "otter". Even so, the first time I participated in the search for drowning victims, looking at the turbulent, fast-flowing Ma River, I was a bit apprehensive. But because of the job, because of the task assigned by my superiors, at that time I only thought that I had to find the victims by all means", Mr. Hoan said.

After his first "fate" with the profession, thanks to the guidance of his colleagues and seniors, Mr. Hoan learned the job very quickly. There were even difficult cases where the victim's body had been missing for many days, but when he "took action", he would definitely 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 his own emotions and pain. In addition to the cases of couples jumping off bridges to commit suicide, boat capsizing accidents, slipping and falling into the river, he also witnessed many victims drowning at a very young age. Although he is brave, has nerves of steel and is very familiar with dealing with victims' 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 on 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 they slipped and fell, leading to drowning. When I arrived at the scene, I was extremely heartbroken when I saw relatives and villagers gathered at the riverbank waiting for news. When I found the victims, I could not hold back my emotions, they were too young, just because of a little carelessness, it left serious consequences for themselves and their relatives", Lieutenant Hoan recalled. That was just one of hundreds of cases that Mr. Hoan had experienced. Mr. Hoan said that there were cases where the victims had been missing for a long time, their bodies were no longer intact, and they smelled bad. If they met someone with a "weak mind", they would be haunted, and even unable to eat after work.

I wish I was "unemployed" every day.

Lieutenant Hoan said that in addition to having a "fate" for the job, recovering a body 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 make a judgment, determine the correct location, and narrow down the search area for the victim.

"Retrieving corpses requires not only "having a knack" for the job, but also mastery 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 to avoid making mistakes when performing his duties. Mr. Hoan remembers that once while searching for a victim, the rope tying his diving suit got caught in a bush, in a "life-threatening" situation, he had to cut the rope to escape. "Working underwater is different from working on land. If we are not careful and do not anticipate situations, accidents are 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 on duty," Hoan shared. In addition to the lurking dangers, rescuers like Hoan do not have a fixed schedule. Regardless of the weather, rain or shine, early or late, even on New Year's Eve, 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 remembers 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 me about his daily work. It was only when they got married that he dared to speak. "When we first got married, when I said I was recovering corpses at night, my wife was startled and did not dare to sleep because she was scared. There were even days when she came home and saw me, she felt sorry for me but did not dare to hold my hand. It took a long time for my wife to get used to going out at night and coming back at night, and to understand her husband's work," 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 grief and separation. "Every time I see the victims' relatives suffering, 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 the last wishes for the deceased. My colleagues and I often joke that one day we will be "unemployed", only then will there be no more scenes of grief and loss," Mr. 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