ZCZC
BFF-08
DAM-COLLAPSE-SOUTHERN-LAOS
36 confirmed dead, 98 still missing after dam collapse in southern Laos
VIENTIANE, Aug. 13, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Lao military personnel and a
rescue team from Singapore are continuing the search for the 98 people still
missing in the wake of the dam burst, with the number of dead confirmed at
36, local daily Vientiane Times reported Monday.
The search for those still missing after the district was inundated
following the collapse of a dam wall involves teams from the Lao army and a
rescue team from Singapore, who are scouring the area in hopes of finding
other victims.
Phalom Linthong, deputy director general of the General Political
Department, Lao People’s Army, said “On Saturday, we found the body of a
three-year-old girl in Hinlath village. This brings the number of known
fatalities to 36, including three injured people who died in hospital.”
Some 585 army personnel and 17 rescuers from Singapore are still
continuing the search for missing people but they are hampered by thick mud,
which makes it difficult to locate bodies, he said.
“The operation is not easy because many areas remain flooded after a week
of rain and we are constantly encountering challenges caused by the thick
mud, sand, and buried objects,” he added.
“We need more equipment to help penetrate the mud. Soldiers and the
Singapore rescue team are having to wade and walk through muddy water, mud,
fallen trees and buildings in the search for the missing,” Brigadier General
Phalom said to media on Sunday.
The two groups are now focusing on Mai, Hinlath, and Thasaengchan villages
of Attapeu Province.
When the flood hit on July 23, rescue teams from Thailand, China, the
Republic of Korea and Laos arrived on the scene to aid in the search, rescue
and relief operation, the daily noted.
Authorities in Sanamxay have now moved the camps set up to accommodate
those made homeless to asphalt roads after lower parts of the district
flooded following several days of rain.
The rebuilding of the road and bridges to the disaster-hit areas is being
accelerated to enable relief supplies transportation.
An under-construction saddle dam of the Xe Pian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower
project, invested by South Korean, Thai and Lao companies, collapsed on July
23, unleashing a large amount of water into some 13 villages of Sanamxay
district.
BSS/Xinhua/MSY/0900 hrs