Laos Dam Collapse: Several Dead, Hundreds Missing After Under Construction Dam Collapses

Pictures, that went viral, showed people sitting on the roofs of their submerged houses. "The disaster claimed several human lives (and) left hundreds of people missing," according to the agency. The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company (PNPC) began building the dam in 2013 and it was due to begin generating power this year.

Laos, July 24: Several people have been killed and hundreds are reportedly missing after an under-construction hydroelectric dam collapsed in Laos. The state media said that nearly 6000 people have been homeless after the flash floods due to the Laos dam collapse gushed into the villages. Officials did not specify the exact number of fatalities.

Pictures, that went viral, showed people sitting on the roofs of their submerged houses. “The disaster claimed several human lives (and) left hundreds of people missing,” according to the agency. The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company (PNPC) began building the dam in 2013 and it was due to begin generating power this year.

There is no exact number of the people who have been affected by the Laos dam collapse. A local Attapeu said that they do not have the formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing.

Thai company Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, a partner in the PNPC project, said that the collapse occurred due to continuous rain, which caused a high volume of water to flow into the project’s reservoir.

“Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company Limited and related agencies had evacuated the people who reside around the area to temporary shelters (…). In addition, urgent assessment of the situation is being made in order to be able to immediately resolve the situation once the water level of the dam has decreased,” the company said in a statement.