ATTAPEU, Laos: Rescuers battled fresh rains Thursday to reach ratings of other people nonetheless lacking after a dam cave in in southern Laos that unleashed a torrent of water, washing away whole villages and killing no less than 26 other people.
The search for survivors has been hampered via monsoon weather within the far flung southern nook of Laos where the Xe-Namnoy dam collapsed on Monday.
Panicked citizens took flight, taking shelter on rooftops or making their strategy to evacuation centres where some said they got only a few hours' caution of the looming crisis.
Boats and helicopters had been dispatched to find other people nonetheless trapped via the common flooding that has left no less than 131 lacking, with street get admission to minimize completely in lots of areas.
Vietnam dispatched military and medical workforce to improve rescue efforts and Thailand said it was once sending with reference to $150,000 in assist.
China's international ministry also said it was once "willing to promptly provide active support and assistance to the Laos disaster relief work".
Around a dozen Chinese rescuers in helmets and lifestyles jackets joined rescuers in Sanamxai the town Thursday near the dam web site, in keeping with an AFP reporter on the scene.
State media said more than three,000 other people had been left homeless via the deluge, many squeezing into makeshift shelters where they recounted the terrifying scramble to flee the swirling brown floodwaters.
Tran Van Bien, 47, from Ban May village near the dam cave in said he was once informed to evacuate simply two hours earlier than the dam burst on Monday night time, running to a neighbour's house along with his family as his house briefly stuffed with water.
"We were on the roof of that house the whole night, cold and scared. At 4:00 am a wooden boat passed and we decided to send my wife and my kid out," he informed AFP from a nearby village where he ultimately found dry land.
"My wife tied our child to her body, saying if they died, they would die together rather than being alone."
The $1.2 billion dollar Xe-Namnoy dam, a joint venture between Laos and Korean companies, was once nonetheless under development in southern Attepeu province when it collapsed after heavy rains pounded the realm earlier this week.
Two South Korean companies involved within the venture's development said harm was once reported an afternoon earlier than the auxiliary "Saddle D" dam collapsed.
However a timeline from operator Korea Western Power Co. got via AFP said 11 centimetres of subsidence was once noticed on the dam's centre as early as Friday.
"It remains unclear what caused the dam to subside in some places and develop cracks. But all of these happened under heavy rains," a Korea Western Power spokesman informed AFP.
The 410 MW venture is one among more than 50 hydropower plans underway in Laos, which has billed itself as the "Battery of Asia" in its ambitious bid to turn out to be a big power exporter within the region.
It has said it wants to double its power technology capacity to 28,000 MW via 2020 and has opened its doorways to international investors -- principally from China, Thailand and Vietnam -- to build dams on its vast river network.
But the initiatives have come under fireplace via rights teams who say local communities are forcibly displaced and lose key get admission to to river waters for farming and fishing.
"Many of the people affected by the current dam collapse have already suffered other impacts due to dam construction. This tragedy has compounded their suffering," International Rivers said in a commentary Thursday.
"Communities were not given sufficient advanced warning to ensure their safety and that of their families. This event raises major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos."
The search for survivors has been hampered via monsoon weather within the far flung southern nook of Laos where the Xe-Namnoy dam collapsed on Monday.
Panicked citizens took flight, taking shelter on rooftops or making their strategy to evacuation centres where some said they got only a few hours' caution of the looming crisis.
Boats and helicopters had been dispatched to find other people nonetheless trapped via the common flooding that has left no less than 131 lacking, with street get admission to minimize completely in lots of areas.
Vietnam dispatched military and medical workforce to improve rescue efforts and Thailand said it was once sending with reference to $150,000 in assist.
China's international ministry also said it was once "willing to promptly provide active support and assistance to the Laos disaster relief work".
Around a dozen Chinese rescuers in helmets and lifestyles jackets joined rescuers in Sanamxai the town Thursday near the dam web site, in keeping with an AFP reporter on the scene.
State media said more than three,000 other people had been left homeless via the deluge, many squeezing into makeshift shelters where they recounted the terrifying scramble to flee the swirling brown floodwaters.
Tran Van Bien, 47, from Ban May village near the dam cave in said he was once informed to evacuate simply two hours earlier than the dam burst on Monday night time, running to a neighbour's house along with his family as his house briefly stuffed with water.
"We were on the roof of that house the whole night, cold and scared. At 4:00 am a wooden boat passed and we decided to send my wife and my kid out," he informed AFP from a nearby village where he ultimately found dry land.
"My wife tied our child to her body, saying if they died, they would die together rather than being alone."
The $1.2 billion dollar Xe-Namnoy dam, a joint venture between Laos and Korean companies, was once nonetheless under development in southern Attepeu province when it collapsed after heavy rains pounded the realm earlier this week.
Two South Korean companies involved within the venture's development said harm was once reported an afternoon earlier than the auxiliary "Saddle D" dam collapsed.
However a timeline from operator Korea Western Power Co. got via AFP said 11 centimetres of subsidence was once noticed on the dam's centre as early as Friday.
"It remains unclear what caused the dam to subside in some places and develop cracks. But all of these happened under heavy rains," a Korea Western Power spokesman informed AFP.
The 410 MW venture is one among more than 50 hydropower plans underway in Laos, which has billed itself as the "Battery of Asia" in its ambitious bid to turn out to be a big power exporter within the region.
It has said it wants to double its power technology capacity to 28,000 MW via 2020 and has opened its doorways to international investors -- principally from China, Thailand and Vietnam -- to build dams on its vast river network.
But the initiatives have come under fireplace via rights teams who say local communities are forcibly displaced and lose key get admission to to river waters for farming and fishing.
"Many of the people affected by the current dam collapse have already suffered other impacts due to dam construction. This tragedy has compounded their suffering," International Rivers said in a commentary Thursday.
"Communities were not given sufficient advanced warning to ensure their safety and that of their families. This event raises major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos."
Rains hamper search for survivors after Laos dam collapse
![Rains hamper search for survivors after Laos dam collapse]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 26, 2018
Rating:
