A South Korean man in his 60s who went missing while paddleboarding on Da Den Lake in Ho Chi Minh City was found dead about a day later, Vietnamese media reported. The case has renewed attention on a string of water recreation deaths involving stand-up paddleboards, or SUPs, in Vietnam.
Vietnamese outlets including Tuoi Tre reported that on May 2, Do Chi Koi, a member of the Kim Long area People’s Committee, confirmed the victim was found near the spot where he disappeared at 12:20 p.m. He said Ho Chi Minh City police and the South Korean consulate were continuing to investigate the circumstances.
Reports said the man, identified only as A, drove to the lake on the morning of May 1 with a Vietnamese acquaintance, identified as B. After parking by the shore, they rode SUP boards to the opposite bank to look around and take photos. B said that while returning to the starting point, he moved ahead briefly and then turned back and could not see A. B reported the disappearance to authorities.
Local authorities deployed about 100 people, including police, militia members and rescue teams, to search the area. The body was recovered around midday the next day.
Da Den Lake spans several hundred hectares across Kim Long commune and the Ngai Giao and Tan Thanh districts. It is a popular spot for camping and leisure, drawing locals and tourists for fishing, swimming and water sports. Vietnamese reports said its large area and deep water have been linked to repeated drowning incidents in the past.
Other SUP-related deaths have also been reported. In October 2024, six tourists in their 20s from Lam Dong province paddled about 200 meters off Long Hai waters near Phu Quy Island to take photos when strong winds and high waves hit under the influence of Typhoon Trami, reports said.
A boat from their lodging rescued three people, and one returned by swimming. Another woman drifted for more than 12 hours while holding a life buoy before being rescued by a fishing boat. One person did not return. Authorities searched for nine days using dozens of boats and about 60 divers before finding the body wedged among rocks on a coastal breakwater more than 9 kilometers from where the person went missing. The area was off-limits to paddleboards, the reports said.
In August last year, two female tourists visiting a beach with family off Hai Tac Island, in Tien Hai commune of An Giang province, were reported to have died after their SUP overturned in suddenly high waves. People nearby tried to rescue them but failed, and the two were later found dead that afternoon. The An Giang tourism department had issued an official notice before the incident barring access to dangerous waters during bad weather, the reports said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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