On the afternoon of September 16, speaking with Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Hoang Thanh Oai - Director of Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Bac Kan province confirmed that today, a working group of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment went to the scene of the sludge dam break of Bac Kan Non-ferrous Metal Company Limited to inspect the situation and work with related units.
"It is clear that there has been a sludge dam break, this has been confirmed and there are working minutes between the sectors and localities that have checked that it exists. The cause is due to heavy rain, rocks and soil on high hills blocking the flow of the stream outlet, leading to overflowing into the dam bank," Mr. Oai informed.
According to the leader of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the sludge dam break did not cause any damage to people or property in Bac Kan province. Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is checking and analyzing the collected samples.
Also on September 16, informing reporters, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tuyen Quang province said that after receiving information about the broken sludge dam in Bac Kan, causing wastewater to overflow into streams through some communes of Chiem Hoa district, on September 14, the unit took water samples for analysis.
"Currently, the samples sent for analysis have not yet had results. Preliminary information from Bac Kan is that it was due to a tailings dam break," said the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Tuyen Quang province.
Previously, as Lao Dong reported, people in some communes of Chiem Hoa district complained that the stream water originating from Cho Don district, Bac Kan province, flowing through the commune had a brown color, an unusual smell, and wherever the water flowed, there were mass fish deaths.
Ms. Quan Thi Chieu - Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Phu Commune (Chiem Hoa, Tuyen Quang) said that the suspected dam break of a waste tank in Ban Thi Commune, Cho Don District caused heavy damage to the locality.
According to initial statistics, nearly 300/600 households of Binh Phu commune were affected, 29 tons of caged fish died, dozens of hectares of cultivated land were buried, preliminary damage estimated at over 3 billion VND.
