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For nearly 24 hours, South Korean and Laotian engineers rushed to save Xe-Pian Xe-Nomnoy's dam before it creaked Monday night, triggering firing of at least 19 people. villagers stranded.
The unfinished dam, considered one of the jewels of the small communist nation to become the hydroelectric center of Asia, has not withstood the torrential rains that have hit the area for years. days, raising questions about safety standards. The dam is a joint venture largely owned by South Korean and Thai electricity companies, with a smaller stake held by a Laos holding company.
SK Engineering & Construction of South Korea, the main contractor with a 26% stake, said that he is still evaluating the cause of the collapse . Government Departments of Laos did not respond to requests for comment.
SK Engineering & Construction, whose account of the accident was corroborated by a Thai partner
Ratchaburi Electricity production
Holdings, said the first worrying signs began around 9 pm. On Sunday
Construction managers found that one of the so-called saddle booms designed to contain diverted river water had shown signs of damage. They started emergency repairs, although they were hampered by heavy rains.
At 3 am, engineers deployed a backup pipe to siphon the water from the secondary dam to reduce pressure on its embankment
At noon that day, SK Engineering & Construction said the engineers had warned the authorities in Laos that there was significant damage and that neighboring villages needed to be evacuated. Shortly after, a letter allegedly sent by the hydropower project to the local authorities was broadcast on social media, warning that the dam had already started to overflow and that there was imminent danger that 5 billion cubic meters will soon be able to cross the walls of the dam. At 8 pm that night, the dam burst, flooding the surrounding villages and flooding the inhabitants who had not been evacuated in time.
The next day, the authorities confirmed that eight villages had been flooded. Images of stranded villagers wading through the muddy waters or perched on the roofs began to appear in the Laotian media.
Relief services are now beginning to penetrate the Attapeu region, which borders northern Cambodia. State media reported that at least 19 people drowned and quoted district governor Bounhom Phommasane as saying that 3,000 people are still stranded. Later, he said that only one person had been confirmed to be dead, reported the Vientiane Times. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisolouth, meanwhile, said during a press briefing that 131 people are still missing.
The Red Cross and the United States mobilize support, with the Red Cross sending packets of sticky rice and instant noodles as well as blankets and water purification equipment. SK Engineering & Construction sent helicopters, boats and medical equipment and Ratchaburi Electricity sent its own support teams.
"We will do our best to normalize the situation as soon as possible," said Cho Khi-haeng, general manager of SK Engineering & Construction, on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the South Korean President
Moon Jae-in
said that if the cause of the incident is still under investigation, Seoul would contribute to the relief effort because a South Korean company is involved.
The consequences of the collapse of the dam and the inability to evacuate nearby villagers are fixed. draw attention to Laos' bold plans to carve its hills and rivers into a battery to meet the growing energy needs of its neighbors. Brian Eyler, director of the Stimson Group Research Center in Washington, said the dam operator should have known that heavy rain was approaching and taking appropriate action. . "Beyond all doubt, it was a man-made disaster," he said.
The Xe Pian and Xe Nomnoy Rivers Factory was intended to sell 90% of its production to Thailand. Much of the project funding, to be completed later this year, was provided by Thai banks. Other hydroelectric plants built along the Mekong River and its tributaries provide energy to meet growing demand in East, Vietnam.
In all, more than 70 factories are either ready, under construction or planned in Laos. officials say that hydropower will soon account for up to one-third of its economy.
Eyler said the failure of the dam could further jeopardize Laos' hydroelectric ambitions. Thailand has already suspended its plans to purchase electricity from another hydroelectric plant for environmental reasons, while other sources of energy such as energy Solar and biogas have become viable alternatives.
Up to now, critics have been focusing on the impact of dams on the environment. The Mekong is one of the most valuable sources of freshwater fish in the world. Non-governmental organizations often describe how villagers have been displaced or point out that some species may have more difficulty swimming upstream from their spawning grounds. Laos, they say, is abandoning its natural wealth to build dams that would mainly benefit the inhabitants of distant cities such as Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.
The accident also raises questions about the safety standards of dam construction programs along the length of the Mekong, which goes from China to Thailand through Laos and Cambodia, before lead to the South China Sea in Vietnam. The main concern is whether dams can absorb heavy rains during the monsoon season in Southeast Asia.
Worse still, the problem is becoming more urgent because of climate change, said Pianbad Deetes, a field researcher with International Rivers, a US-based activist group. , "She said.
Write to James Hookway at [email protected] and Eun-Young Jeong at [email protected]
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