Hundreds missing in Laos after dam collapse unleashes billions of cubic metres of water on villages
The dam was built by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners
A hydroelectric dam collapsed in southeastern Laos, leaving an unknown number of people dead and hundreds missing, state media said on Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as top government officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid.
The official Lao news agency KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu province collapsed on Monday evening, releasing cascades of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless.
The dam was made by a joint venture led by South Korean companies with Thai and Lao partners, and was still being built. KPL described the portion that collapsed as a “saddle dam”, which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency quoted an unidentified official at SK Engineering & Construction, one of the two South Korean partners in the project, as saying rain in the area was triple the usual amount, and one of five auxiliary dams had overflowed.
Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith “suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for August and led his Cabinet members and other senior officials to Sanamxai [district] to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims”, KPL said.
