What does the Ministry of Industry and Trade say about the Bac Khe 1 hydroelectric dam collapse?

A representative of the Department of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment (Department of Industrial Safety, Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that due to prolonged heavy rain, a section of the dam wall of Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant broke, with no human casualties.

Due to the impact of storm No. 11 (Matmo), the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam broke in Lang Son province. Accordingly, at 1:30 p.m. on October 7, 2025, at Bac Khe 1 hydropower plant, Tan Tien commune (Kim Dong commune, old Trang Dinh district), Lang Son province, an earth dam broke.

According to the representative of the Department of Environment Safety, the main parameters of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower project are as follows: Reservoir capacity of 4.8 million m3; dam including earth dam, spillway is concrete dam with free spillway. The length of the earth dam is 107m, the free spillway is 260m; the maximum dam height is 26.5m; installed capacity of 2.4 MW.

At 1:30 p.m., at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant, a section of the earth dam retaining wall about 4-5 meters long and 3-4 meters deep broke. Due to heavy rain on the night of October 6, the inflow reached 1,572 m3/s, causing a concrete section at the water intake to break, and the central control room and equipment in the room to collapse. The plant was flooded, there were no human casualties, and one meter was damaged.

Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant's dam wall broke, no casualties.

Regarding further information on the handling direction, a representative of the Department of Environment Safety said that the Factory has notified the authorities of Tan Tien commune, Trang Dinh commune, and That Khe commune so that the authorities can notify people to move their assets and move to higher places to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

In addition, the Factory contacted the power company to cut off the power to ensure safety. On the same day, the Minister of Industry and Trade established a working group to go to the scene to grasp the situation, provide information and give timely instructions.

The Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam affected 3 villages: Bac Khe, Na Soong and Hop Luc. The total number of households in the 3 villages is 196 with 779 people. Of which, 23 households with 101 people were affected by the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam collapse. Currently, people have been evacuated to a safe place.

Implementing plans to ensure safety of dams and hydroelectric reservoirs

To proactively respond to heavy rain and floods, the Minister of Industry and Trade requested the Chairmen of the People's Committees of Dien Bien, Son La, Lang Son, Cao Bang , Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai provinces and the owners, management and operation units of dams and hydropower reservoirs to concentrate maximum resources to closely monitor the developments of rain and floods; promptly inform authorities at all levels and people to proactively prevent and avoid; proactively develop plans to ensure population safety to be ready to deploy when the worst situations occur, not to be passive and surprised.

Focus on directing owners, management units and operators of hydropower projects in the province to organize operations and implement plans to ensure the safety of dams and hydropower reservoirs, especially in unusual and emergency situations in accordance with the single reservoir operation procedures and inter-reservoir operation procedures approved by competent authorities; arrange a standing force to operate and regulate and be ready to handle situations that may arise.

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade requested the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct the Department of Industry and Trade to immediately establish inspection teams to monitor the operation of hydropower reservoirs in the province, especially small hydropower reservoirs (Nam Cat, Ta Lang, Khuoi Thuoc, Na Loa, Na Tau, Tien Thanh, Thoong Cot 2, Pac Cap, Thuong An) to promptly direct the work of ensuring the safety of dams, reservoirs and downstream areas. Direct the Department of Industry and Trade of Lang Son province to urgently inspect the dam break incident at Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant; direct Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant and local functional units to immediately deploy emergency response plans, ensuring absolute safety for people downstream.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also requires owners, management units and operators of hydropower projects to organize 24/7 command and disaster prevention on-duty, regularly update and promptly report to competent authorities on the operation of the project, especially in unusual and emergency situations according to regulations. Strictly comply with the single reservoir operation process and the inter-reservoir operation process approved by competent authorities. The Department of Industrial Safety and Environment shall immediately organize an inspection team to ensure the safety of dams and reservoirs in Lang Son and Cao Bang provinces. Strengthen direction and supervision of the safe operation of dams and reservoirs of hydropower projects in the Northern region, especially hydropower projects in Cao Bang, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Son La and Lai Chau provinces.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/Xa-hoi/bo-cong-thuong-noi-gi-ve-vu-vo-dap-thuy-dien-bac-khe-1--i783859/