The dam collapse incident in eastern Sudan leads to significant casualties

The dam collapse in the Red Sea state in eastern Sudan has left 60 people dead.

On August 26, Omar Isa Tahir, director of water affairs in the Red Sea state in eastern Sudan, issued a statement saying that the Al-Ba'ath Dam in the Red Sea state completely collapsed on the 25th. This collapse accident has caused 60 deaths and hundreds of people are missing.

Tahir pointed out that the top priority at present is to rescue the people trapped in the flood. Rescuers are fully evacuating people to safe places. At the same time, as some people climb nearby mountains to avoid the flood and are at risk of being bitten by scorpions and snakes, urgent intervention is needed in the dam break area and surrounding areas.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, inspected the site of the dam on the evening of the 25th and said that all government departments will do their best to rescue the affected people. The Al-Ba'ath Dam is located about 20 kilometers north of Port Sudan, the capital of the Red Sea state, and is the main source of fresh water for Port Sudan. Affected by continuous heavy rains, part of the dam collapsed on the evening of the 24th and completely collapsed on the 25th. The flood caused by it inundated at least five villages, and the villages were covered with a large amount of silt, making rescue work extremely difficult.

The rainy season in Sudan usually lasts from July to September or October, and floods occur frequently. According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, since June this year, 60 areas in 16 states in Sudan have been hit by heavy rains and floods, affecting more than 310,000 people.