SEOUL, South Korea - Six South Koreans camping along a river flowing from North Korea were missing Sunday after it suddenly rose, possibly because a new dam in the North released a large amount of water without warning, officials said.
About 1,100 rescue workers were trying to locate the missing people along the Imjin River, fire official Lee Hae-chang said. He said the victims included a young boy.
Gyeonggi provincial official Choi Kwon-rak said the water level jumped from 2.3 metres to 4.6 metres Sunday morning.
He said the dam just north of the border may have released water without notice, adding there was no other apparent cause since it had not rained in the area for several days.
Seoul's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with Pyongyang, said it was looking into what happened.
Some South Korean officials have raised concerns the Hwanggang Dam could cause water shortages or flooding in the South, and could be used by the North as a weapon.
Choi said the area is less than 10 kilometres from the Korean border -- one of the world's most heavily fortified. The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Construction of the dam was about 95 per cent complete early last year, and it was believed to have a capacity of 400 million tons of water, according to South Korean government estimates.
