Ministry of Industry and Trade informs about the incident of broken wall of Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam

On the afternoon of October 7, speaking to a VNA reporter, Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Director of the Department of Industrial Environmental Safety, Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that at 1:30 p.m. on October 7, 2025, at Bac Khe Hydropower Plant, Tan Tien Commune (Kim Dong Commune, old Trang Dinh District), Lang Son Province, an incident occurred where a section of the earth dam retaining wall about 4-5 meters long and 3-4 meters deep broke.

Scene of the Bac Khe hydroelectric dam ( Lang Son ) breaking on the afternoon of October 7, 2025. Photo: VNA

Due to the heavy rain in the basin on the night of October 6, the inflow reached 1,572 m3/s, causing a concrete slab at the water intake to break, and the central control room and equipment inside to collapse.

There are currently no human casualties but the factory is flooded, 1 meter is broken, other equipment is not damaged.

Regarding the post-incident handling, according to Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, the factory has notified the authorities of Tan Tien commune, Trang Dinh commune, That Khe commune, Lang Son province 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. The factory has also contacted the Electricity Company to cut off the power to ensure safety.

The Minister of Industry and Trade has established a working group to go to the scene to grasp the situation, provide information and give timely direction.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Bac Khe 1 hydropower project has the following main parameters: Reservoir capacity: 4.8 million m3; The dam includes an earth dam, a concrete spillway with a free spillway. The length of the earth dam is 107m, the free spillway is 260m. The maximum dam height is 26.5m; Installed capacity: 2.4 MW. The dam owner is Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Joint Stock Company.

The project has been issued by the People's Committee of Lang Son province with the Operation Procedure of Bac Khe Hydropower Reservoir in Decision No. 2242/QD-UBND dated December 12, 2024.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/bo-cong-thuong-thong-tin-ve-su-co-vo-mang-tuong-bao-ngan-dap-dat-thuy-dien-bac-khe-1-20251007170833772.htm