Volunteers from Thailand and Lao authorities have rescued 13 Laotians struck by the deluge after a dam collapse unleashed floodwater to the areas near the construction site.
Team members of the Hook 31 foundation said on Friday seven adults, six children and a dog were found during their joint operation with Lao authorities and other Thai counterparts on Thursday. They stayed on high ground at Ban Xai Don Khong in Sanamxay district of Attapeu province.
All were evacuated by flatboats to shelters from muddy soil that ravaged the village, it added.
Hook 31 specialises in rescue diving. The team joined the international operation to help 12 young footballers and their coach at Tham Luang cave in Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai province earlier this month.
Searches for missing Laotians continued after at least 13 villages in the district was submerged following the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapse on Tuesday.
Attapeu governor Bounhome Phommasane to the Vientiane Times on Thursday 127 people had not been found and more than 10,000 Laotians were taking shelter in Attapeu and neighbouring Champassak province.
“Numbers of affected villages are likely to increase as the flood waters flow further downstream,” the governor said.
Relief aid is flowing into Laos. Rescue workers from neighbouring Thailand were first on the scene in the Sanamxay district of Attapeu Province, while China, South Korea and Vietnam are sending disaster relief teams.
A Singapore Air Force C-130 transport plane loaded with tents, meal rations, bottled water, medical supplies and rubber dinghies with outboard motors arrived in Laos on Thursday, while a second was scheduled to arrive on Friday.
Japan announced it is providing emergency assistance such as blankets and tents at the Lao government's request.
At a press conference Wednesday, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith expressed gratitude for the assistance from foreign countries and international organisations. "Such provision of relief aid and promises have encouraged the affected people to restore the situation back to normalcy," he said.
Joint operations of Thai and Lao rescuers on Thursday. (Video from Hook31.Korat Facebook account)
The burst, which took 27 lives in Laos, also spilled water into downstream Cambodiaand forced Cambodians in Stung Streng province bordering southern Laos to evacuate.
The Thai Royal Air Force on Friday dispatched two plane-loads of more relief supplies, including necessities from His Majesty the King, royal family members and the Thai Red Cross Society, to Pakse airport in Champassak. The items will be transported to affected areas in Attapeu and the areas in Champassak where shelter centres have been set up.
The Lao government has set up a committee to look into the case of the dam collapse, according to the Vientiane Times.
