Work accident at Dak Mi 1 Hydropower Plant leaves 3 workers dead, 2 missing

At noon on December 31, authorities of Dak Glei district (Kon Tum) and construction units were trying to search for two workers who fell into a water hole during construction at Dak Mi 1 Hydropower Plant.

Mr. Do Xuan Hien, Director of the Dak Mi 1 Hydropower Project Management Board, said that at 3 a.m. this morning, during the pouring of concrete for the spillway of the Dak Mi 1 Hydropower Plant, 4 workers fell into a 4-5 meter deep hole; 1 worker below was hit by a rock and died.

Immediately after the incident, the unit sent divers to search for the victims, but due to the cold weather, they could not find them.

By noon on December 31, the unit had found 3 dead workers and was continuing to search for the remaining 2 victims but with no results.

Authorities are clearing the road and bringing in pumps to pump water from the lake.

The victims were identified as Ha Van S. (30 years old), Kha Van Kh. (26 years old), Ngan Van L. (32 years old) and Luong Van H. (20 years old). All four were from Nghe An and were workers at Dung Phuc Loc Company in Cat Vang Commune, Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An.

The remaining victim is AT (24 years old, residing in Dak Lay village, Dak Choong commune, Dak Glei district), a worker at Nguyen Duoc Company.

Dak Mi 1 Hydropower Plant has a capacity of 84MW, located in Dak Choong Commune, Dak Glei District (Kon Tum). The project has a total investment of more than 3,500 billion VND.

The plant began construction in 2009 but has yet to be completed. This is one of the largest hydroelectric projects under construction in the Central Highlands.