According to officials in Pac Ta commune, the incident occurred in a mountain stream area near Mit Thai village, where the victims were working when a large volume of soil and rocks suddenly collapsed from a hillside.

Local authorities received reports of the landslide at around 12:30 p.m. on June 9 after residents informed officials that several people might have been buried under debris during a period of prolonged rainfall.

Police, military personnel, local security forces and villagers were immediately mobilised to search for the victims.

The rescue operation was complicated by difficult terrain. Responders travelled approximately five kilometres by motorcycle before continuing nearly three kilometres on foot through steep forest paths while facing the ongoing risk of additional landslides.

By around 3 p.m. the same day, rescue teams located the bodies of all three victims, who had been swept into a mountain stream by the landslide.

Police identified the victims as local residents who had been working in a mountainous forest area when the landslide occurred.

Preliminary investigations indicate that prolonged rainfall destabilised the slope, triggering a sudden collapse that buried the workers.

Local authorities have handed the victims’ bodies over to their families and are providing support to assist with funeral arrangements.

Following the incident, authorities in Lai Chau have intensified public warnings about the risk of landslides and flashfloods during the rainy season.

Vietnam’s northern mountainous provinces frequently face landslides during the monsoon season, with prolonged rainfall increasing the risk of soil erosion and slope failures.

Cold air triggers heavy rain in northern Vietnam, raising flash flood and landslide risks

VOV.VN - A cold air mass affected northeastern Vietnam as well as parts of the northwest and north-central regions on June 9, bringing moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms, with some areas experiencing very heavy rainfall.