Rescue teams sending boats across the Attapeu area to try to save those stranded by flash flooding

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

At least three thousand people in Laos are still in need of rescue, clinging to trees and sitting on rooftops, after a dam in a southeastern province burst, flooding villages and killing at least 26.

The local authorities and rescue teams are still dispatching boats across the Attapeu area to try to save those who have been stranded by the flash flooding. A reported 2,851 people have already been rescued.

Play Video 0:24 Laos dam collapse: view of flooded villages – video

However, the remote nature of the region, which is in the southeastern tip of Laos, has meant it is difficult to get supplies and emergency assistance to the thousands who are stranded and displaced. There were also fears that more storms were on the way on Wednesday night which could further hamper the rescue efforts.

District governor Bounhom Phommasane told English language newspaper the Vientiane Times that said more than 3,000 people still “require rescue”.

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Hundreds were reported missing after the Xe-Namnoy hydropower dam burst its banks on Monday night, flooding the surrounding region with five billion cubic metres of water. It swept through seven villages, flattening homes and displacing an estimated 6000 families.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, the prime minister, Thongloun Sisoulith, confirmed that 131 people were still missing and that there had been 26 reported fatalities so far.

Those who did escape the flooding gathered in nearby villages, where they were brought bags of donated food and dry clothing by local villagers. 193 families sheltered overnight on Tuesday in Paksong village, and by Wednesday afternoon, over 800 people had gathered in a coffee warehouse, which was being used as a shelter. Women from Paksong village set up makeshift kitchens to feed the stream of displaced families.

Among those crammed into the warehouse was Joo Hinla, 68, who had lived in one of the worst-hit villages of Ban Hin Lath. “It happened quickly, we had little time to prepare ourselves,” she said. “All of the houses in my village are under water. Four of my family are missing, we don’t know about their fate yet.”

An evacuation effort for local villagers had begun a few hours before the disaster, after the South Korean company constructing the hydropwer dam discovered a fault in the structure on Sunday night.

SK Engineering & Construction said in a statement they had “immediately alerted the authorities and began evacuating (nearby) villagers downstream.”

The company had first attempted to relieve pressure on the dam, which it is believed was caused by unprecedentedly heavy rain and flooding over the past few days.

Staff had attempted to release some of the water from the dam into the river on Monday morning and had begun moving people from their homes around midday.

However, repairs were hampered by bad weather and water-damaged roads and the dam’s walls broke on Monday night.

By Tuesday morning, seven out of 12 villages located downstream were flooded and water levels were still rising overnight on Tuesday. Aerial photos reveal the whole area underneath muddy brown water, while images from the ground showed entire villages destroyed and families gathered on rooftops and in trees, waiting for rescue.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Displaced families sheltering in Paksong village, Laos. Photograph: Khamsone Souvannakhily/The Guardian

SK Engineering & Construction said it had sent a crisis team to the site, dispatching helicopters, boats and rescue workers.

“Currently, SK E&C is actively working on personnel recovery and damage relief with the Laotian government,” it said.

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



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

AFP contributed to this report