9 Korean workers unaccounted for after flash flood hits Nepal hydropower site
A flash flood swept through hydropower construction sites in Nepal's Rasuwa district on Wednesday, leaving nine Korean workers unreachable while a separate group of 10 who had been cut off were later confirmed safe.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun presides over an emergency meeting to discuss the safety of Koreans nationals after a massive flood in Nepal at the government complex in central Seoul on Aug. 26.NEWS1
A flash flood swept through hydropower plant construction sites in Nepal's Rasuwa district on Wednesday morning, leaving nine Korean workers unreachable, Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
A separate group of 10 Korean employees who had been cut off by the flood were confirmed safe, the ministry confirmed late Wednesday.
The flood struck around 9 a.m., sending a sudden surge of water down from upstream of the construction site for the Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower project, according to the Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN), the project's developer. Doosan Enerbility is the contractor carrying out engineering, procurement and construction work.
The Korean Embassy in Kathmandu initially reported that eight nationals — five from Doosan Enerbility and three from KOEN — could not be reached, then notified Nepali authorities of one more, bringing the total to nine.
Houses lie partially submerged in muddy water along a riverside after flash floods at Trishuli Bazar in Nepal's Nuwakot district on Aug. 26. A massive flood swept through Nepal's northern Rasuwa district, damaging roads and power infrastructure as authorities scrambled to assess the scale of the destruction.AFP/YONHAP
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun convened an emergency task force meeting at the ministry in Seoul at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, with officials from the embassy in Nepal, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related agencies also taking part.
"Eight of our nationals from KOEN and Doosan Enerbility are currently out of contact," Cho said — a figure later revised up to nine. "Ten other nationals from Doosan Enerbility have evacuated along with roughly 200 foreign employees, including Nepali staff, and are waiting to be rescued, but we have confirmed, together with our dispatched consul, that they are safe."
Citing an urgent order from President Lee Jae Myung to "mobilize every available means, with our nationals' lives and safety as the top priority, in an all-out search and rescue effort," Cho asked the ministry's headquarters and the Nepal embassy to work closely with related agencies for a swift and safe operation.
Cho said a joint rapid-response team — led by Lim Sang-woo, the government's representative for overseas nationals' protection and consular affairs, and made up of officials from the Foreign Ministry, police and the National Fire Agency — would leave Incheon International Airport at 1:40 p.m. Thursday, travel via Hong Kong and arrive in Kathmandu at 9:45 p.m.
Cho added that he would call Nepal's foreign minister Thursday to request cooperation and instructed officials to keep the families of the missing informed with regular updates and to provide any support they need.
Doosan Enerbility confirmed in a statement that some employees at the site could not be reached. The company said it has 20 Korean staff assigned to the site — of the 15 who were there when the flood hit, five remain out of contact.
Doosan Enerbility said it has set up an emergency response headquarters and is dispatching a response team, including CEO Jung Yeon-in, to Nepal.
KOEN said three of the seven Korean employees it had dispatched to the project could not be reached.
The company said it activated an emergency response system under acting CEO Cho Young-hyuk, sent staff from its Kathmandu office to the site, and deployed Nepali military helicopters to search for survivors.
