Rescuers search for missing as Laos dam collapse kills 24
ATTAPEU, Laos — Rescuers searched Wednesday for scores of villagers left missing when part of a newly built hydroelectric dam broke in southeastern Laos, flooding the surrounding countryside and killing at least 24 people, officials said.
Thousands of people lost their homes when the South Korean-built dam gave way Monday, flooding surrounding villages.
Hundreds took shelter in nearby towns, traveling by bus and pickup trucks and sleeping on plastic sheeting.
Bounyong Phommachak, a Red Cross official, said 24 bodies had been recovered and 96 people were officially listed as missing. He said by phone that about 6,600 people had been displaced from their homes.
China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said at a news conference that 131 people were missing and the homeless totaled 3,060. He did not give a death toll.
The discrepancies in the tolls could be due to difficult communications and heavy rains in the area which have hampered rescue efforts.
One of five auxiliary earth-filled dams at the project began visibly weakening on Friday, said Korea Western Power, one of two South Korean partners in the hydroelectric project.
SK Engineering & Construction, the other Korean joint venture partner, said the top of the dam was swept away Sunday as workers were struggling to control the damage amid heavy rain. The situation worsened on Monday as water cascaded out of the reservoir, flooding seven out of 12 villages in the area, SK E&C said.
Continued heavy rain and strong winds forecast for the area could hinder rescue efforts, and risks from flooding persisted in the mountainous region.