Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung dispatched an urgent note on December 16 requiring all necessary measures to rescue the trapped workers in the recent Da Dang-Dachomo hydropower plant accident.

The Government leader asked authorities of the Central Highland province of Lam Dong to muster all-out efforts to search and save the victims who are trapped under ground after part of a tunnel of the plant collapsed in the early morning of December 16.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue and the Ministries of National Defence and Public Security must stand ready to support the local rescue efforts.

According to an initial report, when the incident occurred, 12 workers, including a woman, were working in the tunnel, about 500m from the hatch. No causalities have been reported to date.

Work on the Da Dang-Dachomo project in Lac Duong district kicked off in 2003. The 475 trillion VND (22.6 billion USD) plant, invested by the Civil Engineering Construction Corp. No. 5 (CIENCO 5), is designed to have a capacity of 22 MW.-VNA