Laos blames SK E&C for dam collapse

Dam failure in the district of southeastern Laos, in this July 24, 2018 file photo. Reuters-Yonhap

By Kwak Yeon-soo

A panel of international experts has concluded that the deadly dam collapse in Laos last summer was a preventable man-made disaster, blaming SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) for the accident, Laotian government officials said Wednesday.

The investigators cited poor construction, undertaken by SK Group's construction unit, as the main cause of the collapse, which claimed more than 100 lives, they added.

However, the builder has rejected the claim, saying the investigators had no scientific evidence to prove their claim.

The accident occurred on July 23, 2018, when a dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy project collapsed following heavy rain, sending torrents of water downstream that flooded villages nearby. According to reports, at least 40 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 are still missing.

"The International Expert Panel (IEP) found that the major cause of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Dam collapse was the high-absorbency of the foundation of the saddle dam, coupled with soil being easily eroded, and the level of rising water," Singpheth Bounsavathiphanh, vice chairman of the Government Inspection Authority and vice chairman of the Lao National Investigation Committee, told local reporters.

"These conditions caused erosion within the foundation. When the erosion reached a certain level, the dam became unstable. At some point, the saddle dam broke, causing a massive amount of water to flood out of the reservoir."

SK E&C company dismissed the IEP's findings, questioning their scientific basis.

"If the destruction was a result of what the IEP claimed, a large amount of soil leakage should have been found at the bottom of the saddle dam before the accident, but there was no sign of it," a company official said in a statement.

The company said that the IEP conducted soil analysis through a designated location methodology and third-party analysis, and thus it was hard to believe it followed global standards for such investigations.

"The team sent by Korea government as observers and some leading engineers said they disagreed with IEP's findings on the cause of the accident, saying it was hard to determine," the official added.

According to the company, the dam was constructed adhering strictly to industry standards for such dams.

A new saddle dam is now under construction a kilometer away from the one that collapsed.

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