17 bodies recovered after Laos dam disaster

ATTAPEU, Laos (AFP)– The bodies of 17 people have been recovered after a dam collapse led to flash floods in southern Laos, as two South Korean firms involved in the hydropower project said damage was reported at least 24 hours before the disaster.

A wall of water was unleashed Monday after parts of the XeNamnoy dam were washed away, submerging several villages with hundreds of people feared missing.

A Thai consular official at the scene of the relief effort in Attepeu province said 17 bodies had been ''recovered''.

''But we cannot determine the number of missing yet,'' Chana Miencharoen said, adding rooflevel flood waters were hampering rescue efforts.

Footage on Laos television showed people huddled on roofs as muddy water several meters high swirled menacingly close below them.

''All of the dead are Laotian... more than 6,000 people are affected from eight villages near the dam,'' Chana added.

Poor but blessed with abundant natural resources, Laos aims to become the ''Battery of Asia'' allowing dozens of foreign-funded dam projects across its network of rivers.

But fears over the environmental impact of projects, which export the majority of their electricity to neighboring Thailand and China, go unheard inside the closed, tightly controlled Communist country.

The remote area is only accessible by helicopter and flat-bottomed boats, with roads badly damaged by the flash flooding or completely washed away.

Rescue officials in neighboring Thailand were reportedly stuck at the border with Laos officials sluggish in allowing access into the country. South Korea, which has firms involved in the project, was sending a relief team to the area, President Moon Jae-in's spokesman said Wednesday.

''Although we are still determining the cause of the dam accident, our government must actively take part in on-site relief efforts without delay as our companies were involved in the construction of the dam,'' Moon was quoted as saying.