Seven workers at Cambodian hydropower dam swept away by floods

Sep 15, 2011, 3:22 GMT

Phnom Penh - Seven workers are believed to have drowned after being swept away by floodwaters at a hydropower dam being built in southern Cambodia, national media reported Thursday.

The Cambodia Daily newspaper said the men had tried to swim to safety at the 540-million-dollar Tatay hydropower dam in Koh Kong province.

A monitor with local rights group Adhoc said they were in a group of 70 workers trapped for two days without food after water submerged a bridge connecting the construction site to the riverbank.

Adhoc's Neang Boratino was quoted as saying nine men had tried to swim to the riverbank on Saturday, but seven were swept away.

'(The workers) were afraid of dying because they were out of food,' he said. 'The company did not find a way to lift them out even though they have the equipment.'

He said the other workers had since been evacuated.

The provincial police chief confirmed the seven were missing.

The 246-megawatt Tatay dam, which is due to be completed by 2014, is being built by Chinese state-owned company China National Heavy Machinery Corp, which could not be reached for comment, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

Cambodia lacks sufficient electricity, and hydropower is seen as a key way to generate much-needed power. Two dams are under construction in Koh Kong province, and another two are planned.

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