Dust broke in Laos – hundreds of missing

Hundreds of people are missing since a dust broke in Laos. An unknown number of people were killed in the accident occurred Monday evening, local time. About five billion cubic meters of water – about a third of the water volume of Lake Mälaren – should have been discharged by the dam, located in the province of Attapeu, in the southeastern part from the south-east of the country. The dam was not completed, but was to be used in 2019.

The water took several houses and about 6,600 people lost their homes, reports the AFP news agency in reference at the Lao News Agency. Authorities in the province are calling for disaster relief.

Heavy Clouds

The dam is part of a project owned by the PNPC energy company, headquartered in Vientiane, capital of Laos.

– It's not confirmed yet, I do not know much about the situation, says a PNPC employee at TT by phone.

The Thai company Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, which is also involved in the project, states in a statement that the cause of the accident is a heavy cloud.

A clip published by the ABC Laos press service shows a group of people standing on a beach. In other pictures, flooded buildings and families are sitting on their roofs waiting for help.

No overview

Almost a day after the accident, local authorities still have no overview. An anonymous representative of the province of Attapo to AFP

Environmental law organizations have long criticized Lao's hydroelectric expansion because they consider that the dams have a negative effect on the fauna and flora of the Mekong. Several ponds are being built or planned in Laos, a poor communist state that exports most of the energy produced by hydroelectric power to neighboring Thailand.