Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, Dong Lien Commune People's Committee Chairman Ta Van Phin said that the incident occurred on a local river on Tuesday evening.

"Some fishermen found three pairs of slippers near the Ba Da Bridge at 10 pm on April 16," the official said. "They later saw the body of a teenage boy drifting down the river near the bridge. The fishermen also found a Lead motorbike scooter near the site before calling the police."

A rescue team arrived and found two more bodies at 1 am on April 17.

The three bodies were identified as a 35-year-old woman, her 14-year-old son, and nine-year-old daughter. They all resided in Thai Nguyen City.

Initial investigations showed that the three died from drowning, Phin added. The woman had earlier quarrelled with her husband, and she might have taken her two children to the river to commit suicide.

The woman used to work at a local garment company while her husband is a cooking gas supplier in the area.

Police are further investigating the case.