BANGKOK (AP) — A hydroelectric dam collapsed in southeastern Laos, leaving an unknown number of people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as top government officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid. 
 
 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. 
 
 The dam was constructed by a joint venture led by South Korean companies, with Thai and Lao partners. The project was still under construction, KPL reported. It described the portion that collapsed as a "saddle dam," which is an auxiliary dam 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. Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains. 
 
 Provincial authorities issued a call for emergency aid — clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items — from the "party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata." 
 
 Laos, one of the poorest countries in Asia, has transitioned from communism to a market economy but remains a single-party state where freedoms are limited. There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign reporters who visit operate under tight restrictions, limiting the flow of information. 
 
 Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos' export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer. 
 
 KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion. 
 
 According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is majority-owned by two South Korean companies, SK Engineering and Construction and Korea Western Power. Most of the financing for the project came from Thai lenders. The Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co. Ltd of Thailand holds a 25 percent stake and the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 percent. 
 
 The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant designed to generate 1,879 gigawatts of power a year, with 90 percent of the power being exported to Thailand and the remaining 10 percent used locally. The project is a 27-year concession and was due to begin operating in 2019, a year later than originally planned. 
 
 The project is on a volcanic plateau divided by a river gorge and the catchment area accounts for 17 percent of the Mekong river's annual flow. 
 
 According to assessment documents, about 30 villages were affected by the project with more than 2,000 people in eight villages resettled. Roughly 10,000 people live in the affected area, with most belonging to ethnic minorities. 
 
 The project was supposed to be a cash cow for SK E&C for years. The company is part of the SK Group, one of South Korea's top three conglomerates. Its units include SK Hynix, the world's second-largest chipmaker, and SK Telecom, South Korea's largest telecom carrier. 
 
 Thailand was to receive a stable supply of electricity while Laos was supposed to receive taxes, royalties and other income estimated at $33 billion per year. 
 
 South Korea's Yonhap News agency said SK E&C has dispatched its president to Laos and has set up an emergency team in Seoul. SK E&C did not respond to several calls seeking comment. 
 
 Yonhap said SK E&C was still trying to find out whether water had overflowed the dam or if the dam had collapsed. 
 
 Yonhap quoted an unidentified SK E&C official as saying rain in the area was three times more than the usual amount, and that one of five auxiliary dams had overflowed. 
 
 It said SK E&C is focusing on the rescue operation, using boats and other equipment to search for missing people. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Lee reported from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul contributed to this report. ||||| At least 19 people have died and dozens are missing in Laos after a hydropower dam under construction collapsed. 
 
 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. 
 
 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. 
 
 A video posted on the network's Facebook page shows villagers watching the fast-flowing water from the side of a river bank. 
 
 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. 
 
 A spokesman for the one of the companies involved in the project said heavy rain and flooding caused the collapse. He said the firm was co-operating with the government to rescue villagers. 
 
 "We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an Attapeu official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, adding that there was no phone signal in the region. 
 
 "We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added. 
 
 Image: Villagers carry their belongings as they evacuate in the wake of the collapse 
 
 The Red Cross has staff and volunteers on the ground helping with the response to the disaster, with the organisation saying it has "caught everyone unawares". 
 
 The $1.2bn (£915m) dam is part of a project by Xe-Pian-Xe Namnoy Power Company, a joint venture which is also known as PNPC. 
 
 A number of companies are involved, including Thailand's Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, South Korea's Korea Western Power and the state-run Lao Holding State Enterprise. 
 
 South Korea said 53 of its nationals were taking part in the construction and were evacuated in advance of the collapse. 
 
 The 410 megawatt capacity dam, close to the border with Cambodia, was meant to begin commercial operations by 2019. 
 
 Image: A computer-generated image of a dam being built in Laos by Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company 
 
 It was to form part of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy and the Xe-Pian rivers in neighbouring Champasack province. 
 
 The plan was to export 90% of the electricity generated to Thailand, with the rest offered up on the local grid. 
 
 Environmental groups have long voiced fears about hydropower ambitions in impoverished and landlocked Laos, with around 10 dams in operation, another 10 to 20 under construction and dozens more in the planning stages. 
 
 In particular, concerns have been raised about the impact on the Mekong River, its flora and fauna and the communities that depend on it for their livelihoods. 
 
 As well as disquiet within Laos, several neighbouring nations are worried its ambition to become the "battery of southeast Asia" will disrupt vital ecosystems and their own river systems.
– Hundreds of people are missing, more than 6,000 have been left homeless, and an unknown number are thought dead after a portion of a still-under-construction hydroelectric dam in Laos' Attapeu province reportedly collapsed Monday night, per the AP. The country's KPL news agency, via the BBC, reports that the collapse of an auxiliary dam attached to the main Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam led to flash floods in the southeastern Laos province, sending locals to the roofs of their houses and boats out to rescue survivors. The New York Times notes that 175 billion cubic feet of water gushed out and flooded the area; Sky News notes that's about the amount that would fill 2 million Olympic-size swimming pools. The dam, which was on schedule to open in 2019, is a joint project run by two South Korean companies, including SK Engineering and Construction, as well as Thai and Lao lenders. An SK E&C official quoted by the Yonhap news agency says a deluge of rain that's about three times more than usual had flooded the auxiliary dam. Yonhap says officials are still trying to figure out if the dam overflowed or simply gave way. The dam in Laos, one of Asia's most poverty-stricken nations, was set to bring in billions of dollars for the country by helping to generate electricity that would mostly be exported to Thailand.