Chapter 22 — Summer Rescuer

On Saturday morning, Duong Viet Ha's investigative article was officially published in the provincial newspaper with the title "Eight years of silence: Who is behind the deadly waters in Duong Xanh?", quickly shared widely on social networks, attracting thousands of angry comments. But amid the storm of public opinion forming online, another real storm is also approaching the Duong Xanh coast at a faster speed than forecast.

By noon, the wind had changed to level seven or eight, the sea was rough, waves nearly two meters high continuously pounding the shore. The festival organizers, despite receiving warnings, still tried to maintain the program until the last minute, only postponing the official outdoor performance to later in the evening, in the hope that the weather would improve. Thousands of tourists still lingered on the beach, some because they were curious to see the big waves, others because they didn't have time to leave before the situation became serious.

The rescue team, according to the established plan, arbitrarily stretched ropes and erected physical barriers around the entire area near the breakwater, despite not having received official approval from the district. Trong Nghi stood in the center, using a loudspeaker to continuously announce requests for all tourists to leave the dangerous area and find a safe shelter.

But at about four o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind had increased significantly and the rain began to pour down in torrents, a serious incident occurred. A group of six young tourists, apparently drinking while waiting for the festival, ignored all barriers and warnings, climbing over ropes to "take pictures of big waves" right in the area near the head of the embankment - exactly the most dangerous position.

A giant wave, a combination of a storm wave and a current reflected from the embankment, came suddenly, sweeping all six people into the sea at the same time.

"Emergency rescue! Six people fell into the water, embankment area!" Nhat Quynh, who was on duty nearby, shouted into the radio, his voice shaking with panic at the scale of the incident.

In conditions of rough seas, rain and wind that obscure visibility, this is the most dangerous situation that any rescue team must be wary of. Trong Nghi, despite knowing the level of risk, without hesitation ordered the deployment of the rescue team according to the most emergency plan that had been practiced.

"Thao Nhi, Anh Kiet, approach from the north! Anh Thi, Gia Lam, south! I'm coordinating on shore!" he shouted loudly over the howling wind.

Thao Nhi rushed into the water with Anh Kiet, both of them fighting against waves nearly head high, the water force was so strong that each stroke consumed twice as much energy as normal. Visibility was severely limited by torrential rain and white foam, making it extremely difficult to locate victims.

"I see you two, two o'clock direction!" Mr. Kiet shouted loudly, swimming quickly towards the two struggling figures.

Thao Nhi continued searching, eventually discovering three other people clinging to each other, trying to stay afloat on the water, but were starting to become exhausted from having to fight the fierce waves. She swam over, used a life buoy to assist each person in turn, trying to keep them calm amid the panic.

"Hold on to the buoy, don't let go!" she shouted loudly, her voice almost swallowed up by the roar of the wind.

On the shore, Bach Duong stood next to Trong Nghi, constantly monitoring real-time flow data from a tablet sealed in a waterproof bag, shouting loudly through the radio to warn each rescue group about sudden changes in the water flow.

"The flow is turning east! Mr. Kiet, be careful, stay away from the second junction area!" he shouted, eyes glued to the screen flashing alarming numbers.

But the warning came a beat later. Mr. Kiet, trying to bring the second victim to shore, was swept straight into the most dangerous connection area when the current suddenly changed direction. A huge wave came, submerging both him and the victim he was trying to save below the water's surface.

"Hero!" Thao Nhi screamed, her heart stopped beating when she could no longer see her teammates' silhouettes on the water.

She left behind the victim she had just saved for Do Gia Lam, who had time to swim to help, then rushed straight towards the place where Anh Kiet had just disappeared, regardless of the danger, despite the current swirling violently around that area.

"Thao Nhi, be careful, the current there is extremely strong!" Bach Duong shouted through the radio, his voice filled with panic when he saw her rushing straight into the most dangerous area.

But Thao Nhi didn't hear it, or even if she heard it, she couldn't stop. She dived down, her eyes stinging from sea water and salt, trying to search in the turbid water caused by sand and mud stirred up by big waves. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode after several seconds of continuous diving, but she kept searching, until her hand touched something — Anh Kiet's arm, motionless under the water.

She used all her remaining strength to pull him to the surface, with her other hand still holding the victim he was trying to save before being swept away. All three people, now in critical condition, are trapped in the strongest swirling current that Thao Nhi has ever experienced in her life.

"Cling to me!" she shouted, although it was unlikely Anh Kiet was still awake to hear, pulling both of them towards the lifebuoy that Trong Nghi and the others were trying to throw out from the shore, fighting each wave that was trying to pull them further into the roaring sea.

Every meter of water she swam through was like a life-and-death struggle. Her arms were numb from the cold and from overexertion, but she didn't dare stop for even a second, knowing that if she relaxed, all three of them would be swept even farther by the current, beyond the reach of anyone on the shore. The rain lashed her face, mixed with the salty sea water, making it almost impossible for her to open her eyes. She could only rely on her body's sensations and Trong Nghi's shouts of instructions to orient herself.

When the buoy rope finally touched her hand, Thao Nhi was almost completely exhausted, but she still mustered the last bit of strength to wrap the rope around her wrist, signaling the people on the shore to pull the three in. Mr. Thi and Do Gia Lam, after bringing the first victim to safety, immediately returned to help pull the rope, their muscles tense as they had to cope with the weight of three people and the resistance of the swirling current.

Meter after meter of rope was pulled in, slowly but surely, until all three finally reached shallow water, then were pulled by many other hands onto the rain-soaked sand.

Mr. Kiet lay motionless on the sand, his lips were purple, and there was no sign of breathing. Trong Nghi, with thirty years of experience in the profession, immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, chest compressions at the right pace, while the rain continued to pour down on the group of people surrounding him, everyone's faces were tense to the point of suffocation.

"Come on, Anh Kiet, come on!" Nhat Quynh shouted, tears mixing with rainwater on the young soldier's face, his trembling hands holding tightly onto the shoulder of his older teammate.

The next few moments passed terrifyingly slowly, each time Trong Nghi pressed his chest, bringing with it both hope and extreme fear of those standing around. Thao Nhi, even though she was so exhausted that she could hardly stand, still tried to crawl closer, hold Anh Kiet's hand, and unconsciously whisper words of encouragement.

Then, after what seemed like a century of tension, Anh Kiet suddenly coughed and choked, spitting out a stream of ocean water, his chest rising and falling again with each ragged but real breath. The whole group simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, some people couldn't hold back their tears amid the pouring rain.

"You scared me to death," Thao Nhi said, her voice shaking between laughter and crying, clutching the hand of her teammate who had just narrowly escaped the scythe of death.

"Sorry," Anh Kiet whispered, his voice weak but still containing the familiar humor, "maybe next time I should let you go save people alone."

But just before everyone could fully breathe a sigh of relief, Trong Nghi's walkie-talkie rang out again — there were still three other victims from the original group of six who had not been found, and the storm continued to escalate more intensely by the minute.

Bach Duong ran over and knelt down next to Thao Nhi, his hands shaking when he saw her exhausted state. “You can't go in the water again,” he said, his voice both worried and determined. "I'm exhausted, let someone else take my turn."

"There are three people out there, Bach Duong," Thao Nhi replied, her voice trembled but did not waver, she tried to stand up even though her legs were still shaking. "I can't sit here while they're still waiting to be saved."

Trong Nghi, after handing Anh Kiet back to the care of the medical staff, stood up, his face full of determination even though he was clearly tired. "Rest for five minutes, drink water, then we continue in the new formation. Gia Lam, Anh Thi, and me. Thao Nhi, you are on duty at the shore to support coordination. You have swum two times in a row in the harshest conditions."

Thao Nhi, even though she wanted to protest, clearly understood the limits of her body at this time, so she nodded and accepted her new role. She stood next to Bach Duong, both of them monitored the flow data screen, shouting loudly through the radio to guide the remaining rescue team to reach the last three victims who were drifting further south along the current, which was constantly changing direction due to the influence of storm winds.