Vietnam offers more support to victims of Lao dam collapse

ABO/NDO - Vietnamese authorities, businesses and communities have provided extra support to help Lao people overcome difficulties and stabilise their lives after the collapse of the Sepien Senamnoi hydropower dam in Attapeu province.

Vietnamese forces deliver relief aid to victims of the dam collapse in Attapeu province, Laos. (Photo: VGP)

On July 27, the Office of the National Committee for Response to Natural Disasters and Search and Rescue said that it had proposed that leaders from the committee and Ministry of Defence offer a greater level of assistance to Lao victims.

By 4:30pm on Friday, July 27, the ministry had directed the Military Region 5 to organise forces with more than 100 officers and soldiers and nine vehicles to transport VND450 million worth of medicine, foodstuffs and water, while Corps 15 has provided 10 million Lao Kip to Attapeu to support locals in distress.

Yesterday, Military Region 5 forces conducted medical examinations and treatments for 200 people in the affected area and coordinated with the Lao forces in the search for missing persons and traffic control.

The National Committee for Response to Natural Disasters and Search and Rescue has asked the Prime Minister to issue 150 sets of canvas from the national reserve to aid the Lao province. Meanwhile, Kon Tum province has provided VND550 million and relief aid worth VND200 million to help people in the affected region of Laos.

The same day, the Vietnam Red Cross Society arrived in Laos to donate US$50,000 to help the Lao Red Cross in providing emergency relief aid for people affected by the incident. President of Vietnam Red Cross Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu and her delegation directly visited and gave 100 boxes of domestic goods (including blankets, curtains and cooking utensils) to promptly help the victims.

Over the past few days, the Vietnamese community in Laos has organised donations to help the Lao people overcome difficulties and stabilise their lives. From July 25, a team of doctors from 206 Friendship Company based in Lao Champasak province has examined and distributed medicine to people in the flooded areas. The company also raised nearly VND200 million to support the victims.

Doctors from the hospital at Hoang Anh Gia Lai Medical University also offered medical check-ups and drugs to more than 1,000 local people. Earlier, Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group donated 50 tonnes of rice, 100,000 packets of noodles, five tonnes of dried fish, and 2,000 sets of clothes to the victims.

So far, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, agencies related to the embassy, the Vietnamese community and the Vietnamese businesses in Laos have raised about US$45,000 to present to the Lao Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare.

Unitel Corporation, a joint venture between the Vietnam Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) and Lao Asia Telecom, has donated 400 million Kip (equivalent to nearly US$50,000) to support people in affected villages.

Also on July 27, the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Attapeu directly handed over 1 million Kip and necessities to each local family recovering from the flooding. Representatives from PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PVOIL) in Laos visited and donated US$10,000 and other necessities to the leaders of the province.

The same day, Dao Van Hieu, Vietnamese Consul General to four southern provinces of Laos, visited and presented gifts to affected families, pledging that his consulate general would provide further practical support to help victims soon stabilise their lives. The agency has called on many businesses, organisations, and individuals in the four southern provinces of Champasak, Salavan, Sekong, and Attapeu to assist the victims, he said.

Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) offered VND1 billion (US$43,000) to help Lao people after the collapse of the hydropower dam. The assistance was handed over to a delegation of Lao inspection officials, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Government Inspector General Buonthong Chitmany, during the delegation’s visit to EVN in Hanoi on July 27.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also sent VND300 million (about US$13,000) donated by the ministry’s staff to help victims of the dam collapse in Laos.

(Source: NDO)