image : the red cross said the disaster has ' caught everyone unawares ' the portion of the dam that collapsed on monday is reported to be a " saddle dam " , an auxiliary structure used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam .
prime minister thongloun sisoulith " suspended the planned monthly meeting of the government for august and led his cabinet members and other senior officials to sanamxay ( district ) to monitor rescue and relief efforts being made for flood victims , " kpl said .
the project was still under construction , kpl reported .
provincial authorities issued a call for emergency aid .
bangkok ( ap ) — a hydroelectric dam collapsed in southeastern laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains .
the official lao news agency kpl said the xepian - xe nam noy hydropower dam in attapeu province collapsed monday evening , releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses and made more than 6,600 people homeless .
there is virtually no freedom at least 19 people have died and dozens are missing in laos after a hydropower dam under construction collapsed .
boats have been brought in to help evacuate people as water levels rise , according to abc laos news , with reports the flash flooding has left more than 6,000 people homeless in six villages in the southeast asian country .
laos news agency reports that the accident in the southeastern province of attapeu has released five billion cubic metres of water , enough to fill more than two million olympic swimming pools .