Dam Collapses In Syria

At least ten people were killed after a dam collapsed in northern Syria and flooded at least three villages

According to the state-run news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered immediate assistance in the amount of 50,000 Syrian pounds (about $1,000) for each of the victims.

Hundreds of homes were destroyed when the Zeyzoun Dam near the village of Idlib - some 220 miles north of Damascus - burst on Tuesday. Syrian officials initially had said there were very few casualties because they had been able to evacuate the low-lying areas near the dam.

In the nearby village of Ziara, about 1.2 miles from the dam on the Orontes River, residents described a sudden deluge of water flooding homes and farmland.

"When the water started coming, I took my children and wife and ran into the mountains," said Yasser Ibrahim, 33, a farmer.

Ibrahim said an elderly woman from the village was killed in the flooding, and another woman died of injuries in a local hospital. "The water took them," he said.

The official Syrian news agency said local authorities were taking measures to protect the villagers in the area. The Ministry of Irrigation set up an emergency committee to coordinate rescue efforts and determine the causes behind the collapse, the agency reported.

At least two helicopters evacuated people to safety, residents said.

Syria's official news agency says cracks appeared in the dam, leading to a rush of water, followed by the collapse of the structure and a flood that spread over a large portion of the Alghab region, causing massive damage to a number of villages and their residents.

Ali Abdullah, owner of a gas station about 31 miles from the dam, said that people stopping at the station told him that two other villages, Zeyzoun and Qastoun, were inundated.

As the night fell, men from Ziara returned to the village to inspect the damage. Ibrahim said he left his family behind on high ground until it was safe to return.

Hours after the dam burst, the level of water in the village dropped from about 13.2 feet to about 4 inches.

Residents looking for a dry patch of land to camp out on say most of the water from the dam was quickly absorbed by the swollen river.

An Irrigation Ministry official said the dam had had a capacity of 18.7 billion gallons of water, of which 17.7 billion gallons flooded out when the dam burst.

The dam was built to collect rainwater.