Korea employs helicopters for second day to search for missing nationals in Nepal

The government plans to continue using helicopters in search operations in Nepal on Sunday to locate nine Koreans who have gone missing after a catastrophic flash flood devastated the Himalayan country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Two helicopters are scheduled to be used: one chartered by the government’s rapid response team, and the other by Doosan Enerbility.

Flight authorization has yet to be granted, however, as ground conditions and decisions by Nepali authorities overseeing the rescue effort remain uncertain.

On Saturday, a government-chartered helicopter carrying four rapid response team members flew twice from Kathmandu toward the flood site. It was reportedly the only non-Nepali aircraft cleared to fly that day.

The helicopter reportedly failed to land, and the search was conducted visually instead, with footage from the flight analyzed.

Six employees of Doosan Enerbility and three of Korea South-East Power remain missing since the massive floods struck Nepal’s north-central Himalayan border area on Wednesday.

They were working at a hydroelectric power plant construction site in the Rasuwa District when the floods hit.

Ten other Doosan workers who had been isolated at a different location have been moved to safety.

A ministry official said that Sunday’s search area would be larger than the previous day’s.

Yonhap