Sanamxay ravaged after the hydropower dam burst
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Life for people in the Lao province of Attape’s Sanamxay District three days after the dam breach remains grim.
Many residents in Sanamxay have nothing but the clothes on their back after the sudden flash flood.
Hundreds of houses have collapsed or damaged. Some vehicles lie abandoned on the muddy road. Many people are missing and more bodies are being found.
60-year-old So Lieng said he was looking for his father. "My parents were having a meal when the water swept down the mountain. I saw my parents' house was swept away and someone pulled me and we ran to higher ground. When I looked back, it was a devastating sight," he said.
Lieng's mother was found clinging to a tree a day later by the rescuers but his father is still missing. Lieng has been accompanying search and rescue teams to look for his father but it looks hopeless.
62-year-old Me Bun has to put up a tent on the road to look after their buffaloes. Bun said the villagers didn’t have time to take anything when they heard the thunderous sound of the water. "For the past two days, we ate instant noodles and slept by the forest. It's cold but we have to look after the buffaloes, they’re our only possession left," Bun said.
It is still raining in Sanamxay and the water is receding very slowly. Two teams of doctors from Laos and Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hospital are helping the victims.
Some photos of the area taken by Dtinews Newspaper on July 26:
Many residents in Sanamxay have nothing but the clothes on their back after the sudden flash flood.
People travel by boat on July 26
Hundreds of houses have collapsed or damaged. Some vehicles lie abandoned on the muddy road. Many people are missing and more bodies are being found.
60-year-old So Lieng said he was looking for his father. "My parents were having a meal when the water swept down the mountain. I saw my parents' house was swept away and someone pulled me and we ran to higher ground. When I looked back, it was a devastating sight," he said.
Lieng's mother was found clinging to a tree a day later by the rescuers but his father is still missing. Lieng has been accompanying search and rescue teams to look for his father but it looks hopeless.
62-year-old Me Bun has to put up a tent on the road to look after their buffaloes. Bun said the villagers didn’t have time to take anything when they heard the thunderous sound of the water. "For the past two days, we ate instant noodles and slept by the forest. It's cold but we have to look after the buffaloes, they’re our only possession left," Bun said.
It is still raining in Sanamxay and the water is receding very slowly. Two teams of doctors from Laos and Vietnam's Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hospital are helping the victims.
Some photos of the area taken by Dtinews Newspaper on July 26:
Living by the road
So Lieng searching for his father with rescue teams
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