A team of international experts has concluded that a fatal hydropower dam collapse that claimed the lives of at least 40 people and forced dozens to go missing in southern Laos last year could have been prevented.

According to local media reports on Tuesday, the Laotian government's investigation panel released the findings by the International Expert Panel(IEP), which cited poor construction methods using soil in place of concrete as the cause.

The IEP said the major cause of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam collapse on July 23rd, 2018 was the high-absorbency of the foundation of saddle dam D, coupled with soil being porous and easily eroded, and the level of rising water from heavy rains.

The team added that measures could have been taken in advance to prevent the dam collapse.

In response, SK Engineering & Construction, the South Korean builder involved in a consortium for the dam project, dismissed the findings and questioned the scientific basis of the international team's approach.

The company said a group of leading global engineering firms that investigated the collapse and a Korean government investigative team that participated as observers in the latest investigation did not agree with the International Expert Panel’s determination of the cause of the disaster.