The presidential office in South Korea said President Moon Jae-in had ordered an emergency relief team to help with the disaster.
Laos News Agency reports that the accident in the southeastern province of Attapeu has released 5 billion cubic metres of water, enough to fill more than two million Olympic swimming pools.Laos is a landlocked communist country, bordering on Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar.
A video posted on the network’s Facebook page shows villagers watching the fast-flowing water from the side of a river bank.
Hundreds of people are missing after a hydroelectric dam collapsed in southern Laos.More than 6,000 people lost their homes when the dam gave way on Monday, flooding surrounding villages.Hundreds took shelter in nearby towns, traveling by bus and pickup trucks and sleeping on plastic sheeting.
The International Red Cross said food was a concern because village food supplies were drenched in the flooding. It was arranging for water purification units to be sent to the area to ensure supplies of clean drinking water.
The hydropower dam was under construction and cost a whopping $1.2bn, with plans to route 90 percent of its electricity to Thailand.
The dam had a capacity of 410 megawatts and was scheduled to begin operations by 2019. The project began construction in 2013, and the reason for the collapse is not clear.
SK Engineering & Construction, the other Korean joint venture partner, said the top of the dam was swept away Sunday as workers were struggling to control the damage amid heavy rain.Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has cancelled his meetings and travelled to the area to provide support.
