PH to extend assistance to Laos

The Philippine government has extended its sympathies and readiness to help Laos after a hydroelectric dam collapse left at least 26 people dead and hundreds missing.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said yesterday the Philippines stands ready to extend assistance in the wake of the disaster that displaced at some 6,000 people in the southern part of Laos.

“Our thoughts are with the government and people of Laos as they cope with this tragedy,” said Cayetano in a statement.

“We hope and pray for the safe recovery of the many who were reported missing,” he added.

The Philippine Embassy in Vientiane said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam collapsed on Monday evening as a result of heavy monsoon rains, sending millions of tons of water rampaging down at least six villages in Attapeu province.

Ambassador to Vientiane Belinda Ante said the Embassy is in touch with members of the Filipino Community in the affected areas in Attapeu, which is located approximately 584 kilometers southeast of the capital.

“Only 10 of the 28 Filipinos registered with the Embassy are still in the area but all are safe and have not been affected by the flooding,” said Ambassador Ante, as quoted by Cayetano.

Rescuers recovered 26 bodies and hundreds remain missing after the dam collapse swamped several villages.

Survivors questioned why they got little warning of the deluge.

Two South Korean contractors said they reported damage at least a day before parts of the Xe-Namnoy dam gave way Monday and unleashed a wall of water.

A Thai consular official, Chana Miencharoen, at the scene of the relief effort in Attapeu province told AFP that by Wednesday late afternoon 26 bodies had been recovered.

“Seventeen others are injured and in hospital,” he said, adding roof-level floodwater was hampering rescue efforts in a remote area of the poor, landlocked Southeast Asian country.

The Laos News Agency said hundreds of people remained unaccounted for, with at least 50 missing from the village of Ban Mai alone.

Footage on Laos television showed people huddled on roofs awaiting rescue as muddy water swirled menacingly just below them, with the army and local volunteers leading the relief effort.

Questions began to emerge over the collapse, with some of the displaced saying they were warned to evacuate homes only hours before disaster struck.

“It happened quickly, we had little time to prepare ourselves,” Joo Hinla, 68, from one of the worst-hit villages of Ban Hin Lath, told AFP from a warehouse crammed with over 700 displaced people in a neighbouring province.

“All of the houses in my village are under water. Four of my family are missing, we don’t know about their fate yet.”

Hundreds of other displaced people, including women, children and the elderly, sat on the floor nearby surrounded by plastic bags crammed with meagre belongings.

Laos, poor but blessed with abundant natural resources, aims to become the “Battery of Asia” allowing dozens of foreign-funded dam projects across its network of rivers.

But fears over the environmental impact of the projects, which export most of their electricity to neighbouring Thailand and China, go virtually unvoiced inside the tightly controlled communist country.

Villagers across the country have been moved, some several times, to make way for dams whose benefits are mainly enjoyed outside of the country, campaigners say.

Once complete, around 90 percent of the electricity generated by the Xe-Namnoy dam was destined for Thailand.

The remote flooded area is only accessible by helicopter and flat-bottomed boats, with roads badly damaged or completely washed away.

Rescue officials in neighbouring Thailand were reportedly stuck at the border because Laotians were sluggish in allowing access to the country.

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