Hundreds missing after dam collapses in Laos
THE Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday warned residents and authorities in Stung Treng province to prepare to evacuate after a hydropower dam in Laos collapsed due to heavy rains, leaving hundreds missing and an unknown number feared dead.
The dam in Laos’ Attapeu province is around 70km from the Cambodian border. Water from the dam enters the Se Kong River, which flows into Stung Treng town.
The ministry said it has notified Stung Treng provincial authorities and advised people living along the Se Kong River – part of which forms the Cambodia-Laos border – to be ready to move to higher ground.
The partly built hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed after heavy rains and sent a wall of water surging through six villages, state media and contractors said on Tuesday.
The Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening near the border with Cambodia. It released five billion cubic metres of water, which can fill more than two million Olympic sized swimming pools.
The agency said there were “several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing,” while some 6,600 people were made homeless as authorities scrambled to evacuate villagers.
Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers. Several dams are being built or planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand.
Aerial footage posted on the Facebook page of local news outlet ABC Laos showed a vast brown inundation swamping houses and jungle alike over a huge area.
Another video showed families trapped on the rooftops of their houses, awaiting rescue. A nearby Buddhist temple was