Ministry of Industry and Trade informs about the Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Dam collapse incident

(Chinhphu.vn) - A representative of the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that due to prolonged heavy rain, a section of the dam wall at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant broke, but no human casualties were recorded.

Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant experienced a dam wall break - Photo: Ministry of Industry and Trade

According to initial information, at 1:30 p.m. on October 7, under the influence of storm No. 11 (Matmo), at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant, Tan Tien Commune (Kim Dong Commune, old Trang Dinh District), Lang Son Province, an earthen dam broke. The broken earthen dam wall was about 4-5 m long and 3-4 m deep.

Previously, on the night of October 6, heavy rain in the basin caused the water flow to the lake to reach 1,572 m³/s, causing a concrete slab at the water intake to break, collapsing the central control room and affecting the equipment inside. Preliminary damage showed that the factory was flooded; there were no human casualties, one meter was broken, and other equipment had not been damaged.

Regarding response work, the factory notified the authorities of Tan Tien, Trang Dinh and That Khe communes (Lang Son province) to promptly warn and guide people to move their assets to higher places, ensuring safety of life and property. The factory also coordinated with the electricity unit to cut off power to the area to ensure safety. On the same day, the Minister of Industry and Trade established a working group to go to the scene to grasp the situation and give timely instructions.

According to the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment, the affected area involves 3 villages: Bac Khe, Na Soong and Hop Luc, with a total of 196 households (779 people). Of these, 23 households (101 people) were directly affected by the incident; to date, people have been evacuated to a safe place.

Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Project has a reservoir capacity of 4.8 million m³; the dam is an earth dam, the spillway is made of concrete with a free spillway. The length of the earth dam is 107 m; the free spillway section is 260 m; the maximum dam height is 26.5 m; the installed capacity is 2.4 MW.

Focus on responding to heavy rain and flash floods caused by storm No. 11

To proactively respond to heavy rain and floods, in the telegram issued on October 7, the Minister of Industry and Trade requested the Chairmen of the People's Committees of Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Cao Bang , Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai provinces and the owners, management and operation units of dams and hydropower reservoirs to closely monitor the developments of rain and floods; promptly inform authorities at all levels and people to proactively prevent and avoid; proactively develop plans to ensure the safety of residents to be ready to deploy when the worst situations occur, not to be passive and surprised.

Direct the Department of Industry and Trade to immediately establish inspection teams to monitor the operation of hydroelectric reservoirs in the province, especially small hydroelectric reservoirs (Nam Cat, Ta Lang, Khuoi Thuoc, Na Loa, Na Tau, Tien Thanh, Thoong Cot 2, Pac Cap, Thuong An) to promptly direct the work of ensuring the safety of dams, reservoirs and downstream areas.

Direct the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son province to urgently inspect the dam break incident at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant; direct Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant and local functional units to immediately deploy emergency response plans, ensuring absolute safety for people downstream.

For owners, management and operation units of hydropower projects, the Minister of Industry and Trade requested to organize 24/7 command and disaster prevention on-duty, regularly update and promptly report to competent authorities on the operation status of the project, especially in unusual and emergency situations as prescribed.

Strictly comply with the single reservoir operation procedure and the inter-reservoir operation procedure approved by the competent authority.

The Minister of Industry and Trade also requested the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment to immediately organize an inspection team to ensure the safety of dams and hydroelectric reservoirs in Lang Son and Cao Bang provinces.

Strengthening direction and supervision of the safe operation of dams and reservoirs of hydropower projects in the Northern region, especially hydropower plants in the provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Son La, and Lai Chau.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/bo-cong-thuong-thong-tin-ve-su-co-vo-dap-thuy-dien-bac-khe-1-102251007184640947.htm