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ALWAYS CORRESPONDES PHOTO – In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018, photo, people on a boat are evacuated into the waters of a collapsed dam in southeastern Laos. Rescue efforts are underway in flooded villages after the break-up of part of a newly built hydroelectric dam in southeastern Laos. (Attapeu TV via AP) (Associated Press)
BANGKOK – Rescuers were looking Wednesday for hundreds of missing in flooded villages when a party of a new construction hydroelectric dam was violated in southeastern Laos.
SK Engineering & Construction, one of the two South Korean project partners, said in a statement that the summit of one of the five auxiliary dams backfilling the project had been swept away. Repair work on the earth dam was hampered by heavy rains and the damage worsened on Monday, causing water to overflow and flooding seven of the 12 villages in the area, the company said. . The cascade of 5 billion cubic meters (176 billion cubic feet) of collapse flooded villages and left more than 6,600 people homeless, reported the official Lao news agency KPL. He said that hundreds of people were missing, without providing details.
The website of the state newspaper Vientiane Times said Wednesday that two people had been confirmed dead Tuesday afternoon. The government said the area was a disaster zone and senior officials rushed to the site, according to photos and videos posted on social networks showing people sitting on the roofs to escape from the water, so that others have been saved. boat. Official media said helicopters were also used to rescue people.
Heavy rains and strong winds expected in the region could hinder relief efforts, and flooding risks persisted in the mountainous region
aid – clothing, food, drinking water, drugs, cash and others – from the party, government agencies, business circles, public servants, police and military forces, and people from all walks of life.
The South Korean news agency Yonhap SK E & C sent its president to Laos and created an emergency team in Seoul
The company did not respond to requests for comment
The The $ 1.02 billion multi-watershed project in a remote corner of southeastern Laos is the first hydroelectric dam to be built by a South Korean company, and it was unclear to what extent the damage would be severe. for the overall plan. The dam was to come into service in 2019, with 90% of the electricity produced in Thailand
Shares of affiliates at SK E & C sank Wednesday due to potential costs of compensation and others financial fallout from the disaster. 19659017] SK Discovery Co., SK The second largest shareholder of E & C, with a stake of 28.25 in the builder, has dropped more than 10% to reach its lowest level in more than three years. SK Holdings Co., the largest shareholder of SK E & C with a stake of 44.48%, fell by 3%.
Laos has dozens of hydroelectric projects under construction and plans to sell electricity to neighboring countries. But the construction of dams along the Mekong River and its tributaries, including those affected by this disaster, has raised concerns about the impact on the environment and other problems
International Rivers, a non-governmental group "With more than 70 hydropower projects currently being built, under construction and planned throughout Lao PDR – most of them are owned and operated by private companies – the authorities must immediately examine how dams are planned, designed and managed, "said the group in a statement
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