Catastrophe as waters collapse dam in Laos

partially submerged.

Nearly 24 hours after the collapse, local authorities said they were struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster.

“We do not have any formal information yet about casualties or how many are missing,” an official in Attapeu province, where much of the flooding occurred, said on condition of anonymity. He said there was no phone signal in the flooded region.

“We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first,” the official added.

The Thai government said it would also send rescue experts to its northern neighbour.

The $1.2 billion dam is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, which is a joint venture formed in 2012 by a Laotian, Thai, and two South Korean companies, the project’s website said.

Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, the Thai company, said it had been told by operators that a 770-metre-long auxiliary dam used to divert river water had failed after heavy rainfall.

“The incident was prompted by continuous rainstorms which caused a high volume of water to flow into the project’s reser- voir,” it said in a statement.

Yonhap news agency said one of the South Korean companies, SK Engineering and Construction, has sent a crisis team to Laos. It is bringing in helicopters from Thailand to assist in rescue operations.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said another firm, KoreaWestern Power, was also involved. The companies and others had sent helicopters, boats and rescue workers.

“All of our 53 nationals who were taking part in this construction evacuated in advance,” the ministry said in a statement.

The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in Champasak Province.

It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy-hungry Thailand and the remainder was to be offered up on the local grid.

Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27 years after commercial operations began.

Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on local communities who are often displaced.

Maureen Harris, an expert on Laotian dams at the NGO, Inter- national Rivers, said the flooding raised “major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos, including their appropriateness to deal with weather conditions and risks”.

“Many of these people have already been relocated or suffered impacts to livelihoods due to the dam construction and are now experiencing further devastating impacts – loss of homes, property and family members,” she said.

Laos has been keen to turn itself into “the battery of Southeast Asia” with a series of massive hydropower projects that has sparked opposition in downstream Mekong nations likeVietnam and Cambodia, who fear it will disrupt vital ecosystems, fisheries and their own river systems.

Authorities in communist Laos keep a tight control on information and are often opaque about business deals and development projects. The media is statecontrolled.

The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction and dozens more in planning stages.

“Once they cast themselves as the battery of Asia, exporting electricity became one of the major revenue sources, so it’s basically selling natural resources such as water,” said Toshiyuki Doi, senior advisor at Mekong Watch.