A search and rescue operation for 130 people missing after a hydropower dam collapsed in southern Laos has become "very difficult" due to heavy rains and rising floodwaters, the Laos government says.
"It is impossible for many areas to be reached with vehicles or even boats," Laos' Disaster Management Committee said in a report published by state media on Saturday.
The committee also blamed the deluge of mud, which reached a depth of 50 centimetres.
Floods in some areas were as high as seven metres, ABC Laos News reported.
Aerial photos circulating on social media showed vast areas submerged in high floodwaters that almost reached the people seeking refuge on the rooftops.
As the search and rescue operation entered its fifth day, two more bodies were found, bringing the total death toll to at least 29.
One of the bodies belonged to a boy believed to be between three to four years old, Nattikorn Permlak, a Thai rescue worker told Thai newspaper Matichon.
The Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam, which was still under construction when it collapsed late on Monday, released up to five billion cubic metres of water and swept away thousands of homes.
