Hundreds missing as Laos dam collapses

Bangkok: Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly constructed hydropower dam in south-east Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported.

Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries.