Damages found on the Laos Dam one day before its collapse

The wall of water unleashed Monday by the failure of the dam in the southeast of the country swept downstream, sweeping houses and leaving an unknown number of people feared dead.

SK Engineering & Construction, a South Korean builder who is a "We immediately alerted the authorities and started evacuating villagers (nearby) downstream villagers," he said in a statement.

Repair work was hampered by heavy rains that had damaged the roads, and early Monday, water was discharged from the Xe-Namnoy Dam – one of the two main project dams – to try to reduce the pressure.

The government was warned that further damage would be caused to the dam around noon, which caused an official evacuation order of villagers downstream, and the structure collapsed a few hours later. Out of 12 villages downstream were flooded, he added. Aerial photos showed a vast brown flood flooding the houses and jungle over a vast area.

Villagers take refuge on a roof Attapeu district in southeastern Laos, Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

AAP

Another video shows families waiting for rescue on the roof from their home, with a Buddhist temple nearby partially submerged.

He says he sent a crisis team to the site, sending helicopters, boats and rescuers.

"Currently, SK E & C is actively working on staff recovery and aid to Laotian government". It is ravaged by a vast network of rivers and several dams are built or planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydroelectric power to neighboring countries such as Thailand.

The $ 1.2 billion dam located near the border with Cambodia This is a joint initiative of Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company based in Vientiane or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012 between a Laotian company, a Thai and two South Korean, according to the website of the project.

was supposed to start its commercial activities by 2019, according to the website of the company

The project consists of a series of dams on the rivers Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian in the province of Champbadak.

to export 90 percent of its electricity to Thailand eager for energy and the rest had to be offered on the local network.

Under the terms of the construction, PNPC stated that it would operate and manage the energy project for 27 years after the start of commercial operations.