The reservoir dam that collapsed on Thursday with a loss of 16
lives in southwest China's Yunnan
Province was built without the approval of authorities, local
police said yesterday according to their initial
investigations.
The reservoir, which had a storage capacity of 80,000 cubic
meters, had no one in charge of management since it started
operations, they said.
The dam, at Daqiao Village in Yiliang County, collapsed after
torrential rains early on Thursday morning, killing 16 villagers
and injuring another 23.
The downpours reportedly came after a long dry period when water
levels in the reservoir were lower than normal.
Faults in its construction resulted in its failure to withstand
the sudden heavy rainfall, police said.
Nineteen houses and 40 hectares of crops in three villages were
inundated after the accident, causing estimated direct economic
losses of 4.64 million yuan (US$560,000).
Local police are investigating the owner, designer and builder
of the reservoir and the local government is helping those affected
by the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2005)