American Tourist Delighted by Act of Kindness from Boatman in Hoi An

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On June 16, a video capturing the moment a local man dove into the river to recover a foreign visitor's phone after it fell into the water during a basket boat ride in the Bay Mau Coconut Forest (Hoi An Dong Ward, Da Nang City) attracted widespread attention online.

Foreign tourists cheer as a basket boat operator finds a lost cellphone. (Photo: Ngoc Toan)

In the video, the basket boat operator wasted no time diving into the river as soon as he realized the phone had fallen overboard. Just seconds later, he resurfaced holding the recovered device high above his head, prompting cheers and applause from numerous tourists who witnessed the scene.

Tran Ngoc Toan, the owner of a basket boat operation in the area, said the incident occurred on the afternoon of June 14. While a group of Western tourists was exploring the Bay Mau Coconut Forest by basket boat, one visitor accidentally dropped a cellphone into the river while filming a video.

Foreign tourists cheer and applaud as a basket boat operator recovers a cellphone that had fallen into the river. Photo: Ngoc Toan.

The man who dived in to retrieve the device was Lac, a 70-year-old resident of Hoi An Dong Ward. According to Toan, water levels in the area are currently low, with a depth of only about 1.5 meters, making the search relatively safe.

“Lac grew up in a coastal community and is highly familiar with rivers and waterways. Having swum and dived since childhood, he was able to quickly locate the phone and recover it for the tourist,” Toan said.

According to him, the cellphone was still functioning normally after being retrieved thanks to its water-resistant design. Upon receiving the device, the foreign tourist was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed gratitude to the basket boat operator.

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