IRGC's dam breaks in rural Iran, government denies damage
Azerbaijan, Baku, April 3 /Trend M. Moezzi
The Khatam al-Anbiya Rayen dam in the outskirts of the Iranian city of Kerman broke early Monday morning, sending the water behind it rushing into the river and causing flood, according to news sources in Iran, IRNA reported.
The dam burst before it was officially inaugurated.
The flood left six villages without drinking water and electricity, spilled over onto 40 kilometers of rural dirt roads completely wiping out some of them and destroyed 200 to 300 walnut trees on both sides of the river, Rayen district mayor Ebrahim Parizi said.
Rayen is situated in the foothills of the Hezar Mountains, south of Kerman province in Iran. The emergency director for the Kerman Province estimated the dam's breaking caused about $1.4 million in damage.
The government denies there was a flood however. A few hours after the dam broke, deputy energy minister, Mohammad Reza Attarzadeh, said a problem with part of the Khatam al-Anbiya dam's breaking had been resolved.
The deputy said there had been no flood because the dam was so small there was no water stored behind it.
The dam cost $3.7 dollars to build and work on it started in 2006.
