After Kakhovka Dam destruction, search for missing continues

The search continues for people missing following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Sunday, with 29 people still unaccounted for. The ministry reported that on the right bank of the Dnieper, controlled by the Ukrainian authorities, 32 towns and villages with 3,784 houses were still under water. Some 1,400 emergency service workers were involved in rescue and cleanup operations following the rupture of the dam in the early hours of Tuesday, it said. Evacuations were also reported to be proceeding on the Russian-controlled left bank of the river. Thousands of people living on both banks have been evacuated. Water levels are falling, with the Dnieper at Kherson at 4.18 metres early on Sunday, more than half a metre lower than a day previously, Ukrainian authorities reported. The operators of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station reported levels in the dam water were also dropping. They recorded 9.35 metres, more than seven metres lower that on Tuesday. It was hard to predict further developments, they said. Ukraine accuses the Russian military of mining the dam and then destroying it with an explosion, while the Russian authorities say the dam, which was under Russian control, was hit by Ukrainian missiles. Dozens of towns and villages were flooded, and 13 people are reported to have died in the ensuing disaster. The long-term environmental consequences remain unclear, as combat operations in the region continue.