RESCUERS are searching for villagers still missing after a newly built dam broke in south-eastern Laos, flooding the surrounding countryside and killing at least 19 people.
More than 6000 people lost their homes when the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower facility gave way on Monday, engulfing surrounding villages in Attapeu province.
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The exact number of victims is unclear. The official news agency said yesterday afternoon that hundreds of people were missing. More recent reports put the number missing in the dozens.
The death toll has now risen to 19.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed people sitting on rooftops to escape the surging water, while others were carried to safety or rescued by boat. State media said that helicopters were being used to rescue people.
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SK Engineering & Construction, one of two South Korean partners in the project, said the top of one of five auxiliary earth-fill dams at the project “got swept away” on Sunday night after heavy rain.
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