Two Vietnamese interns in Japan go missing in Typhoon Haishen

The interns were working at the Aioigumi Joint Stock Company in Miyazaki prefecture, located on Kyushu Island. 

Prior to the landing of Haishen, concerned that the two interns’ accommodation near the company might be unsafe in the storm, the director suggested them to take shelter at his house, which was also the firm’s office and had stronger structure.

However, the Consulate General said, the powerful typhoon triggered a landslide on a mountain there, making this house collapse into the bank of a nearby river. The two Vietnamese interns, together with the director’s wife and child, went missing as a result. Meanwhile, the director was injured and hospitalised.

Japanese authorities are searching for the missing.

Vietnamese Consul General in Fukuoka Vu Binh said shortly after being notified of the incident, the Consulate General has promptly carried out citizen protection measures. It has also worked with and received active coordination from relevant agencies of Japan in information provision and search for the Vietnamese citizens.

Earlier, he added, right after receiving information about Super Typhoon Haishen, the Consulate General had issued warnings for the Vietnamese community on its website, as well as on websites and fan pages of Vietnamese organisations and associations in the region.

It has also kept contact with Vietnamese people’s associations and groups, along with some businesses and schools with a large number of Vietnamese in the areas the Consulate General is in charge of so as to have a good grasp of their situation, urge them to take prevention measures and receive information to implement timely citizen protection measures if necessary.

Typhoon Haishen rolled in Kyushu Island on early September 7 with wind speeds of up to 160km per hour and gusts of 216km per hour.

As of September 7 noon, at least 46 people in the Kyushu region were injured in this typhoon.