Initial information on the Bac Khe hydroelectric dam collapse in Tan Tien commune, Lang Son province

On the afternoon of October 7, the People's Committee of Tan Tien commune, Lang Son province, issued a quick report on the collapse of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam, due to the impact of storm No. 11 (storm Matmo).

The area where the Bac Khe 1 hydroelectric dam broke is in Tan Tien commune, Lang Son province.

Due to the influence of storm No. 11 (Matmo), from the morning of October 6 to the morning of October 7, 2025, Tan Tien commune had continuous rain, sometimes very heavy rain.

Water flow from Bac Khe Hydropower Plant at 12:00 on October 7 was 1562m ³ / second, water flow downstream was 1562m ³ / second.

At 1:30 p.m. on October 7, the Bac Khe 1 hydroelectric dam broke. The broken section of the dam was about 4-5 meters long and 3-4 meters deep.

Immediately after the incident, comrade Doan Thanh Son, Provincial Party Committee member, Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, and leaders of relevant departments and branches were present at the scene to inspect and direct the incident response work.

Comrade Doan Thanh Son, Provincial Party Committee member, Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, along with leaders of departments, branches and Tan Tien commune were present at the scene of the incident.

Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant, Tan Tien Commune, Lang Son Province is located in Bac Khe Village, Tan Tien Commune with reservoir capacity: 4.8 million ^m3 .

The dam consists of an earth dam and a concrete spillway with a free spillway. The length of the earth dam is 107m, the free spillway is 260m. The maximum height of the dam is 26.5m.

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.

The initial cause was determined to be due to prolonged heavy rain with a peak water flow of up to ^1,572m3 /second, causing a concrete slab at the water intake to break, and the central control room and equipment inside to collapse.

Currently, the factory is flooded, 1 self-measuring machine is broken, other equipment is not damaged, no human casualties have been recorded. Currently, the authorities are calculating the damage to crops flooded by the incident, the total damage is estimated at about 50 billion VND.

Regarding the post-incident handling work, according to Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Joint Stock Company, the plant 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, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

The factory also contacted the electricity industry to cut off power to ensure safety.

Since the morning of October 7, the People's Committee of Tan Tien commune has inspected the areas where cracks have appeared around the dam body. Since then, the commune authorities have urgently notified by means of communication such as telephone, zalo group... to the villages in the area around Bac Khe 1 hydropower plant and the downstream areas of That Khe, Trang Dinh, Khang Chien, and Quoc Viet communes so that the commune authorities can notify people to evacuate from the dangerous area, ensuring safety of life.

The communal authorities have directed the police, military , militia, medical, and rescue forces to be ready to participate in searching and evacuating people from dangerous areas.

Currently, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep and the working delegation also went to the scene to grasp the situation, inform and give timely direction.

Le Quoc Dat

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thong-tin-ban-dau-ve-su-co-vo-dap-thuy-dien-bac-khe-tai-xa-tan-tien-tinh-lang-son-post913574.html