(UPI) A pair of long lost twin brothers were reunited in Vietnam after being adopted by different families 43 years earlier.

Tran Van Canh and Tran Van Truong, both 52, said they were given to separate families at age 5 when their parents lost their home and found themselves impoverished due to mounting medical bills for the men's father, Tran Van Trang.

Tran Van Canh said he was a teenager when he met a woman who was believed to be his biological mother, but he later discovered the woman's son had been given up around the same time under different circumstances.

Tran Van Thanh was reunited with his biological family at age 25 and joined his mother, Pham Thi Lien, in searching for his twin brother.

Canh and his mother's family had separately sent letters in 2007 to TV program Nhu Chua He Co Cuoc Chia Ly -- As If There Was No Separation -- which specializes in reuniting family members.

The show's producers eventually made the connection between the letters, but they were unable to contact Canh until this year because he had moved and changed his phone number.

Canh requested a DNA test to confirm his relation to the family, and after the test came back positive he was reunited with his mother, twin brother and the rest of the family. He said he was unaware that he had a twin brother and was shocked to discover the other man looks exactly like him.

The twins said they were surprised to learn they share the same sense of humor and have similar food preferences.

Copyright 2020 by United Press International