VietNamNet Bridge – Water absorbtion may have weakened the 40 metre length of dam wall that collapsed in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on Monday, announced Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung.

Hydro-power dam broken in Central Highlands

He said yesterday (June 13) that the absorbtion may have caused the creation of hard and soft sections in the earthern retaining wall of the newly built Ia Krel 2 dam.

However, Dung said he was waiting for official results of an inspection being conducted by the State Department for Construction Quality Assessment.

Dung also claimed it was the responsibility of the provincial department of Industry and Trade to appraise the quality of the dam from design through to construction.

The torrent of water that followed the collapse of the wall swept away 10 residents and forced 20 families from their homes. However, to date, there have been no reports of death or injury.

Yesterday, families from the 20 households in Duc Co District were moved into temporary accommodation.

Vo Thanh Hung, chairman of the district's people's committee, said local authorities were helping affected residents get back on their feet by giving them up to VND3 million.

However, he said no one from the hydro-electricity company had arrived to discuss matters by yesterday morning.

No injuries were reported. However, 200ha of rubber trees were swept away, causing losses of hundreds of billions dong.

Rescue teams are still looking for possible victims. When the dam broke, 10 residents were swept away by the torrent, but were later found safe.

The 5 Megawatt Ia Krel 2 project was built in 2009 by the Bao Long-Gia Lai Hydro-electricity-Industry Company. It had been expected to come into operation in the third quarter of this year.

Source: VNS