Foreign minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi has sent Italy's condolences to Laos over the dam collapse on Monday that flooded several villages, killed at least 20 people and left 100 missing in southeastern Attapeu province.
Moavero tweeted "Italy's profound pain for the great tragedy that has beset Laos".
"Condolences for the many victims and closeness to their families," Moavero wrote in the tweet late on Tuesday.
Five billion cubic metres of water swept through the surrounding countryside after the accident at the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam, which is still under construction, leaving an unknown number of people dead and more than 6,600 homeless, according to officials.
The company building the dam said heavy rain and flooding caused it to collapse and said it was working with the Laos government to help rescue villagers.
Environmental activists' concerns over hydropower dams have been dismissed by the government, which is investing in heavily in a series of major dams planned on the main Mekong River over the next 20 years.
The government's controversial ambition is to make land-locked Laos the “battery of Asia” by selling power to its neighbours.
