Bac Khe 1 hydroelectric dam collapse: 101 people affected

(Dan Tri) - The Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment said that the households directly affected by the collapse of the Bac Khe 1 hydroelectric dam were 23 households with 101 people.

The latest information from the representative of the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) said that Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant has notified the authorities of Tan Tien commune, Trang Dinh commune, That Khe commune (Lang Son province) to notify people to move their assets and move to higher places to ensure safety.

The factory contacted the power company to cut off the power 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, provide information and give timely instructions.

According to the representative of the Department, the collapse of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam affected 3 villages including Bac Khe, Na Soong and Hop Luc, with a total of 196 households and 779 people. Of these, 23 households with 101 people were directly affected and have now been evacuated to a safe place.

Previously, at 1:30 p.m. on October 7, at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant, an incident occurred where a section of the dam's retaining wall, about 4-5 meters long and 3-4 meters deep, broke.

Location of Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant (Photo: Google Maps).

Due to heavy rain on the night of October 6, the water flow in the basin reached 1,572m3/s, causing a concrete slab at the water intake to break, and the central control room and equipment in the room to collapse. Preliminary damage, the factory was flooded. Currently, there are no human casualties, 1 meter is broken, other equipment is not damaged.

On the same day, the Minister of Industry and Trade signed an urgent dispatch to the Chairmen of the People's Committees of Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Cao Bang , Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai provinces and the owners and management units of dams and hydropower reservoirs in the area.

The Minister requested the leaders of Lang Son province to urgently direct the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son to inspect the incident, request the Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant and functional units to immediately deploy emergency response plans, ensuring absolute safety for people downstream.

Local leaders directed the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son to immediately establish inspection teams to monitor the operation of hydroelectric reservoirs in the province, especially small hydroelectric reservoirs, to promptly direct the work of ensuring the safety of dams, reservoirs and downstream areas.

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

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/su-co-vo-dap-thuy-dien-bac-khe-1-101-nhan-khau-bi-anh-huong-20251007184010893.htm