Six-year-old boy found in Vietnam forest after five days
A six-year-old boy who had been missing for five days has been discovered deep in a forest in Vietnam.
Dang Tien Lam, from the northwestern Yen Bai province, was playing in a stream with his nine siblings on August 17 when he wandered into the hills and became lost, according to local reports.
On Wednesday, local farmers heard a child’s cry while clearing a cinnamon field near the forest and found Lam sitting in cassava bushes about 6km (3.7 mi) from where he had disappeared. He was so weak that he couldn’t stand.
“I’m so tired, I can’t stand up, please carry me,” Lam reportedly said to 52-year-old farmer Ly Van Nang.
According to reports, Lam survived by eating leaves, wild fruits, and drinking stream water.
Photos shared online show locals attending to him and offering him cake after he was brought out of the forest. He was wearing a red T-shirt and shorts, which were completely dirty.
“[The boy told me] that after he got lost, he couldn’t find his way back,” Mr. Nang told the local news site Dan Tri.
“And the more he walked, the more he could not find a way out.”
The police said it was a “miracle” that Lam was found alive.
“Congratulations on returning safely to your family,” officers wrote on a Facebook post.
The news sparked relief on social media, with many congratulating Lam’s family and thanking the search team for their efforts.
Local authorities had mobilized more than 150 people – including police officers, soldiers, and local volunteers – in search of the young boy.
