The Laos Dam collapses: 3,000 people need help while the death toll rises to 19 | News from the world



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In Laos, at least three thousand people still need help, hanging on trees and sitting on rooftops after bursting a dam in a southern province -est, flooding villages and killing at least 19.

Teams are still sending boats into the Attapeu area to try to rescue those who have been stranded by the flood. A total of 2,851 people have already been saved.


The collapse of the Laos dam: view of the flooded villages – video

However, the remote nature of the region, located at the southeastern tip of Laos, has made it difficult for relief and relief efforts to reach thousands of displaced and displaced people.

District Governor Bounhom ​​Phommasane said: The Vientiane Times language newspaper said more than 3,000 people still needed to be saved.

Hundreds of people were missing after the explosion of the Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric dam on Monday night, flooding the region with five billion cubic meters. He swept seven villages, displacing about 6,600 families.

According to a report from the Attapeu administration office, 19 people were found dead and dozens missing.

An evacuation effort of the villagers began 24 hours before the disaster, after the South Korean hydropower dam construction company discovered a fault in the structure on Sunday night.

SK Engineering & Construction said in a statement that it "immediately alerted the authorities and started evacuating villagers (nearby) downstream."

The company tried to relieve pressure on the unprecedented dam. heavy rains and floods in recent days.

Staff attempted to free some of the dam water in the river on Monday morning and began moving people from their homes around noon.

However, repairs were hampered by bad weather and roads damaged by water and the dam walls were interrupted Monday night.

Tuesday morning, seven of the 12 downstream villages were flooded and water levels continue to rise Tuesday. The aerial photos reveal the entire area under muddy brown water, while the soil images show families gathered on rooftops and in trees, waiting for relief.

Those who escaped the floods gathered in the neighboring villages. food and dry clothes by local villagers. 193 families took refuge Tuesday evening in the village of Paksong and, Wednesday afternoon, 800 people arrived and gathered for a meal prepared by women of the village





<img class = "gu-image" itemprop = "happyUrl" alt = "Displaced families sheltering the village of Paksong, Laos, in the village of Paksong, Laos Photography: Khamsone Souvannakhily for the guardian

SK Engineering & Construction reported sending a crisis team to the site, sending helicopters, boats and lifeguards.

"Currently, SK E & C is actively working to recover personnel and damage the Lao government." The $ 1.2 billion dam near the border with Cambodia is part of a project of Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in 2012 between a Laotian, a Thai and two South Koreans. According to the project website,

The 410 megawatt plant was to start commercial operations by 2019.

AFP contributed to this report

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