Lake burst sends flood down Köl-Sai

TALAS — Water from a glacial lake at the head of the Köl-Sai burst through its moraine dam yesterday and sent a flood of water and debris down the torrent, carrying away a bridge and a stretch of road on the ISEZ side of the Qara-Chik line, the Talas River Hydrological Monitoring Service said.

No casualties had been reported by last night. The district administration closed the road below the torrent, and a Gendarmerie patrol was posted at the broken bridge.

The Köl-Sai drains the moraine-dammed lake on the northern slopes of the Talas Alatau and flows north to the Talas valley. For most of the year it is a small stream, but its outlet runs strongly from June to August, when the snow and ice above the lake are melting. The service said the moraine had given way after weeks of hot weather and that it would ask for access to inspect the lake.

The service monitors moraine-dammed lakes in the range with the Manas Peak Glaciological Observatory. Residents of the valley said they had seen the torrent turn brown and heard boulders rolling in its bed before the water reached the road.