Hanoi, July 29 (Engineering Daily) -- The cracks in the Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy dam body was discovered a day ago and immediately engineers were dispatched to deal with them but failed due to heavy rain.
Attapeu Provincial Government, Laos confirmed that at least two people are dead and many villagers have been missing and thousands are displaced after the collapse of the dam according to a senior provincial official of the Lao newspaper Vientiane Times.
The damaged dam was part of a network of three major dams and five additional dams in the Xe Pian – Xe Namnoy hydropower dam project, which was managed by Thai, Korean and Lao contractors. The project had been completed 90% and was expected to operate from 2019.
Korean SK Engineering & Construction reported the first crack was found on July 22, around 9:00 PM and on the same day the dam was partially damaged. Immediately the contractor warned the authorities and villagers near the dam to evacuate. A team of engineers was dispatched to cover the cracks but had been prevented from heavy rain.
At 3:00 AM on July 23, one of the three major dams the Xe-Namnoy was made to discharge water to reduce water levels in the dam. At 12:00 PM, local authorities ordered the people downstream promptly to leave after judging that the dam would eventually collapse. After 8 hours around 8:00 PM, the dam caved in and submerged villages which consisted of thousands of houses.
Thai Ratchaburi Electricity Company, one of three investors in Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy Hydropower Project, issued a statement reading the breakdown of the dam was reported on July 23. Accordingly, the amount of water from the sudden heavy rains caused water levels to rise. This was beyond the capacity of the dam, Nikkei reported.
PNPC Company, which manages electricity supply projects in Laos and Thailand, earlier warned of a possible breakdown of the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy Dam, saying that the incident could make 5 billion cubic meters of water flooded into Xe Pian River. Meanwhile, the Xe Namnoy River reservoir is capable of storing more than one billion cubic meters of water, mostly from the Houay Makchan and Xe Pian river basins.
Vientiane Times' Facebook account said seven villages with 1,300 households and more than 6,000 people were still flooded after the dam collapsed. Mr. Soulichanh Phonkeo, Director of the Department of Planning and Investment, Attapeu, said many of the victims were washed away by floodwaters, but some had clung to the tops of the trees and escaped to safety. "We need a large number of boats to save them from dangerous areas", he said.
While, the BBC has said at least 20 people have been killed and 100 are missing after the crash but the information has not been verified.
Speaking to VnExpress, Mr. Nguyen Duy Quan, Counselor in charge of Consular Affairs, Vietnam Embassy in Laos, said 15 Vietnamese families in the affected area and they are now safe.
Laos rescue force has used helicopters and boats to evacuate stranded residents, urging government agencies and the community to provide emergency aid for clothing, food, water and medicine for people in affected area.
Vietnam's Ministry of Defense has announced that the Military Zone 5, the Corps 3, the Air Force and the Corps 18 would be ready to assist the country at the request of the Ministry.
The Xe Pian - Xe Namnoy Hydropower project worth $ 1.02 billion, expected to come into operation this year, 90% of electricity output from the project will be exported to Thailand and the rest for local.
