The death toll from a massive dam collapse in southern Laos has jumped to 31, officials said, with scores still missing weeks after the unprecedented disaster that swept entire villages and farmland away.
Information about the number of dead and missing persons has trickled out of the disaster zone since the July 23 dam collapse in the secretive state unaccustomed to organizing large-scale rescue operations — and the global media scrutiny the deadly disaster has drawn.
An official in southern Attapeu province said the death toll had climbed and scores were still missing weeks after the dam burst, unleashing a wall of water across a large swathe of the province.
“The operation over the past day, teams have found dead bodies which put the death toll at 31 while the number of missing is at 130,” Ounla Xayasith, the deputy governor of Attapeu, told reporters Sunday.