An Indonesian Tourist Killed in Vietnam Tree Fall

HANOI, KOMPAS.com - An Indonesian tourist was killed and several other foreigners injured when a tree toppled onto them at a Vietnamese waterfall park, officials said on Monday.

An Indonesian embassy spokesman confirmed that Agustinus Adri Aristiono died in Saturday’s incident at the Datanla Waterfall Tourist Park near Dalat in south-central Vietnam. Three other Indonesians were slightly hurt.

Several Australians were also injured, two of whom remained in hospital on Monday, an Australian government spokesman said. The incident happened as they were waiting to use a small rollercoaster at the park. It was an unavoidable accident, said Le Viet Luc, director of the park.

“There has been rain here over the past few days. The humidity is high, so the soil becomes eroded, causing old trees to fall,” Luc said.

“We cannot check in advance which trees might fall.” In Vietnam’s worst tourism accident, 11 foreign visitors and their guide died in February when a boat sank in Halong Bay near Hanoi, adding to concerns about safety standards at tourist sites.